By Ki Grinsing

Overview

Linksys introduces the new E Series including Linksys 3200, 2500, 1500 and 1200 with more stylist design. It’s likely that Linksys is replacing the previous first generation of E-series with these lines of New second generations of E-Series. E3200 is not much different than the previous E3000 series. And in the middle of 2012, Linksys introduced EA cloud router series including EA4500, EA3500 and Linksys 2700 EA series.

Comparison Linksys 2500 Vs 2000 Vs 2700

What about the E2500, E2000 and EA2700 series? Are there any significant differences?

Comparison between Linksys E3200 Vs E3000 was discussed recently that both routers do not have many significant differences – nearly the same. Linksys E2500 and E2000 have some spec differences as shown in the following table.

Wireless Technology

Linksys 2000 was released around Jun 2010 or something and not more than a year later the new E series of Linksys (second generation) were shipped into the market.

All three routers are geared with dual band technology although there are actually type differences of dual-band technology used by each router. Linksys 2500 and 2700 are geared using simultaneous dual band technology while Linksys 2000 is selectable dual band. Is it different? Certainly yes, selectable dual band runs only one band at the same time.

N600 means combined bandwidth of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands up to 600Mbps while the E2000 only single band each time with speed up to 300Mbps. Speeds up to 300Mbps for all the three routers each band.

This is the first difference between the two routers, simultaneous Vs selectable dual band technology.

Antenna

Both routers include internal antennas with smart MIMO technology but the number of antenna contained by the routers is different. MIMO is a technology which uses multiple antennas to coherently resolve more information than possible using a single antenna. Linksys 2500 and 2700 include 4x internal antennas while Linksys 2000 includes 3x internal antennas.

 Comparison table

Interfaces

If the requirements of gigabit interfaces exist you should consider either E2000 or EA2700 routers.

The drawback with Linksys 2500 regarding the Ethernet ports it is not geared with Gigabit interfaces but fast Ethernet. However, when compared to 2000 then Linksys 2500 has superior features with simultaneous dual band and antenna design is more powerful.
USB port is absent

All the three routers do not include a USB port which is typically used for hosting an external shared storage or shared printer (not many routers support shared printer).

If sharing a printer is one of your needs for your home networking, those routers are not what you need. You may consider other routers that include USB print-server for example Asus RTN56U which includes two USB ports for sharing both storage and printer concurrently. Or you may consider the D-Link DIR-632 with one USB printer for shared printer and includes 8 Ethernet ports. The last one is ideal for small offices if more wired connections are required.

Click here for Linksys E2500 spec details and prices.

Guest network

Traditional wireless routers in the past shipped into the market with the capability of broadcasting a single SSID (network name) and some dual band wireless routers broadcast two SSIDs. Many types of home wireless routers today support multiple SSIDs (Guest network). All Linksys routers here support Guest network – a feature to let you create separate SSID with different password to allow your guests access the internet without granting access to your local private network resources.

Both Linksys 2500 and 2000 routers come with Cisco Connect software, a software that allow you manage your network easily including the Guest network, the security settings, client connections and so on.

Cisco Connect and Cloud Connect

And the main difference between both of these routers and Linksys 2700 is that the Cisco Cloud connect feature on all EA series routers. With this cloud connect feature, you can manage your home network via your iOS or Android mobile devices anywhere you are online. This app is very useful when home appliances are coming with cloud feature capabilities including security camera. Cisco Connect Cloud will keep expanding with new apps to enrich your connected lifestyle.

Networking diagram

A common home networking diagram that uses either E2000 or E25000 can be shown in the following figure. Multiple home theater devices with Ethernet-ready are connected via a multi-port wireless bridge to let them join to the network or to the internet wirelessly.

Click here for Linksys E2000 N300 selectable dual band spec details.

Summary:

The main differences among Linksys EA2700, E2500 and E2000 are on the types of dual band technology used and the Ethernet ports.

Linksys 2500 and EA 2700 support simultaneous dual band and fast Ethernet 10/100Mbps ports (E2500), Gigabit on EA2700. On the other hand the Linksys E2000 supports selectable dual band and the gigabit Ethernet ports.

But the main difference is the Cisco Connect Cloud on Linksys 2700 which are not available in both E2500, 2000 series.