Linksys E-4200 is a new high speed wireless router introduced in Jan 2011 – a simultaneous dual band gigabit router with N750 technology

Main features:

• Wireless N750 technology, double bandwidth up to 750Mbps
• Gigabit interfaces
• USB port with built-in media server – DLNA compliant
• Guest network

Linksys introduced the E-4200 when Netgear also introduced the same N750 technology router in CES2011 with WNDR4000. But it seems that Linksys ships the product into the market earlier than WNDR4000. E-4200 is powered by the fastest wireless technology today 802.11n and is back compatible with the legacy 802.11b/g standard devices.

High Speeds

When Linksys released the E-3000 N600, I was thinking that this was the ultimate product for a while at least until 2011, but it is not. Basically compared with the E-3000 router, the main different is about the speed. E-3000 is powered by the N600 technology meaning both bands deliver the speeds of up to 300Mbps. On the other hand, E4200 is powered by the N750 technology, means the maximum speeds is 450Mbps for 5GHz band and for 2.4GHz band the speed is up to 300Mbps. These are ideal speeds; you cannot expect the speeds as described by the manufacturer specs.

Click for spec details

Like E3000 router, the Linksys E4200 is powered by the latest 3×3 smart MIMO antenna technology for high speed network and larger network coverage. With the addition of wireless multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS) engine, the router is ideal for streaming high definition video and smooth gaming experiences. QoS provides prioritization for streaming and gaming over any data type traffic.

Linksys E4200, E3000 and also Netgear WNDR4000 are equipped with the gigabit interfaces for both LAN and WAN Ethernet ports. With LAN Ethernet ports, you can optimize the data throughput for computers with gigabit NIC enabled for reliable high speed data transfer or any demanding high-intensive bandwidth applications.

Gigabit WAN Ethernet ports is very essential when you connect the router to the latest DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with gigait Ethernet port such as Surfboard SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem. But, remember that all the high speed of your local environment doesn’t improve your internet experiences if your broadband internet service is still the same or slow. For better internet connection, you should also upgrade the Internet services plan for better performance plan as well.

USB Port

Both Linksys E4200 and the previous version E3000 include one USB port (with built-in UPnP Media server support) that let you connect a USB external storage for share such as 1T storage disk. You can easily stream your multimedia files to other home theater devices including XBOX console, Blu-Ray player, PS3 and HDTV with Ethernet enabled.

If you expect to be able to host a USB printer for share across the network, you’ll be disappointed. This router (including E300 and WNDR4000) unfortunately cannot be used to host a USB printer. You need to share your printer in traditional way by attaching the printer to the computer and configure it for share. Or you can purchase a wireless print-server such as Linksys wireless print-server.

Should you require single router which supports the USB port for storage and printer share at the same time, you can consider any one of the following wireless router:

• New Asus RT-N56U Black Diamond – new Asus product which supports two USB ports to let you share both the storage and the printer concurrently.
• Trendnet TEW673GRU wireless N dual-band simultaneous router with two USB ports too. Or you can consider Belkin HD N600 dual band wireless gigabit router.

Advanced Security

Normally the previous router products do not support the Guest network. Today many routers support the secure Guest network. You can create separate SSID for guests with separate password and limited network access. This is good for security reason, you grant your guests internet access without compromising the security. The new Linksys E4200 supports this Guest network feature by limiting access to your local network.

Like other wireless routers today, the wireless security encryption including WPA/WPA2 and RADIUS are also included for wireless security encryptions. Generally the RADIUS is implemented in businesses as the central of Authentication and Authorization for remote access networks. For legacy clients, the WEP security encryption is still included for connecting any types of legacy clients to the network.

Other security function including NAT and SPI are also supported. And DHCP for client IP management is also included for providing the IP lease to all the client computers on the network.

Comparison

Many people are wondering if they should purchase this new Linksys E4200 or other routers. the table below compares main features for Linksys E4200 N750 Vs Apple Airport Extreme Vs Wndr4000 N750, not to mention all the specs.

A common diagram for Linksys E4200 can be shown below. For connecting multiple Ethernet-based devices – home theater devices including XBOX console, Blu-ray players and HDTV you can consider Linksys WES610N – multiport wireless media bridge.

Linksys E4200 is a high performance wireless N simultaneous dual band gigabit router which is designed for smooth gaming and streaming HD video for large home.

By Ki Grinsing

See also:

• TEW-687GA 450Mbps Wireless N Gaming Adapter is the fastest wireless gaming adapter by TRENDnet.
• Netgear DGND3700 N600 ADSL2 Wireless Modem Router
• TEW-690AP N450 Wireless Access Point
• Best wireless router for gaming and streaming