这是我们第一次有机会测试和审查Linksys的路由器，幸运的是，我们正在审查一款承诺卓越性能和大量功能的(performance and plenty)高级型号(premium model)：Linksys 智能 Wi-Fi EA6900 路由器(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router)。正如您所料，这是一款支持最新 802.11ac 无线网络标准的双频路由器。考虑到Linksys在网络领域的(Linksys)品牌认知度(brand recognition)，我们非常想知道这款设备有多好，以及它是否兑现了承诺。阅读这篇评论，了解我们学到了什么。
拆箱Linksys 智能 Wi-Fi EA6900 路由器(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router)
在Linksys EA6900 路由器(Linksys EA6900 router)的包装盒内，您将找到以下物品：路由器、三个外置天线、电源适配器(power adapter)、快速安装指南(setup guide)、网线(network cable)和包含多语言文档的光盘。没有可用的传统安装光盘(installation disc)。正如您稍后将看到的，整个设置是使用网络浏览器(web browser)和此路由器包装中提供的网络电缆完成的。(network cable)
有关拆箱体验的更多详细信息，请不要犹豫，观看下面的简短视频：
硬件规格
让我们看一下Linksys(Linksys)为这款路由器推广的最重要的规格：
首先(First)，Linksys EA6900是一款支持802.11ac无线网络标准的双频路由器。它以 2.4 GHz(GHz)频率（承诺最大吞吐量为 600 Mbps）和 5 GHz（承诺最大吞吐量为 1300 Mbps ）传输无线信号。它具有三个易于插入的可调节外部天线。不幸的是，无论您以哪种方式将它们连接到路由器背面，它们都不会感觉很稳定。
在有线连接方面，这款路由器有 4 个千兆以太网(Gigabit Ethernet)端口。它还包括两个USB端口：一个USB 3.0和一个USB 2.0。由于这是一款高级设备，我本来希望有两个USB 3.0端口。
与此价格范围内(price range)的所有现代路由器一样，它包括支持DLNA 流(DLNA streaming)、服务(Service)质量(Quality)( QOS )和家长控制等功能。
您可以在此处找到完整的规格列表：Linksys 智能 Wi-Fi 路由器 EA6900(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6900)。
设置和使用Linksys 智能 Wi-Fi EA6900 路由器(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router)
首次设置Linksys EA6900时，首先将天线连接到路由器背面。然后，将其连接到电源插座，(power outlet and plug)并将Internet 电缆插入标有(Internet cable)Internet标记的端口。使用包装盒内的网线(network cable)将路由器连接到台式电脑或笔记本电脑。显然，您应该将其插入路由器背面的四个以太网端口之一。(Ethernet)
然后，等待路由器启动。在启动过程中，路由器前面的电源灯会(power light)间歇性地打开和关闭。路由器启动完成后，电源灯常亮(power light)。
接下来，打开您喜欢的浏览器并转到http://www.linksyssmartwifi.com或 192.168.1.1（路由器的默认IP 地址(IP address)）并按照设置向导(setup wizard)进行操作。
不幸的是，如果您像我们一样使用PPPoE 互联网连接， (PPPoE Internet connection)Linksys EA6900无法正确检测到它。这意味着您将浪费相当多的时间来设置它，并且您必须手动设置您的Internet 连接(Internet connection)。
我们发现的另一个问题是设置向导(setup wizard)包含检查最新固件更新(firmware update)的强制性步骤。从理论上讲，这很好，但只有当它设法正确设置您的Internet 连接(Internet connection)时。不幸的是，即使您的Internet 连接(Internet connection)未被正确识别，也会强制执行此检查。这意味着您将浪费更多时间，直到路由器明白它无法连接到Internet并下载最新固件。这是不幸的，我们希望Linksys能做出更好的设置向导(setup wizard)。
连接到Internet后，您就可以开始详细配置路由器了。对于那些技术不高的人，Linksys包含一张带有2.4 GHz 无线网络(GHz wireless)默认名称(default name)及其密码的卡。我们建议不要使用这些默认值，因为它们会带来安全风险(security risk)。此外，最好配置其设置，以便您可以使用所需的无线网络(wireless networking)标准，在使用网络时获得更好的安全性和更快的速度。
Linksys EA6900支持 22 种语言。您可以在下面的屏幕截图中看到它们。不幸的是，Linksys EA6900的多语言支持弱于其直接竞争对手。
该路由器控制面板(control panel)的主页看起来友好且易于使用。您有一列左侧有几个类别，右侧有几个带有实时数据的小部件。您可以轻松打开和关闭这些小部件或添加新小部件。
我们了解到，智能 Wi-Fi 工具(Smart Wi-Fi Tools)部分中的选项通常友好且易于使用。对于他们来说，用户界面(user interface)很简单，它提供了您期望的所有数据和配置选项。(data and configuration options)
用户界面的弱点是路由器设置(Router Settings)部分。有很多可用的设置，它们并不总是以友好或合乎逻辑的方式分组。他们相当拥挤，很难找到。举几个例子：重启选项(reboot option)隐藏在Troubleshooting -> Diagnostics下。我们花了很长时间才找到它。
路由器使用的固件版本是您可能想知道的重要信息。不幸的是，为了学习它，你需要去Sign Out -> About。为什么路由器的控制面板(control panel)主页上没有显示此信息？或者至少在Help -> About下，就像使用各种软件时一样？
说到固件，我们已将Linksys EA6900升级到我们测试时可用的最新版本：1.1.42.158863。
我们发现的另一个与固件相关的问题是，当您访问Linksys 支持网站(Linksys Support website)并想要下载最新固件时，您会了解到该路由器有两个不同的硬件版本。不幸的是，没有简单的方法来判断您拥有哪个版本，Linksys也没有提供指导。由于我们的测试模型(test model)是新制造的设备，我们假设我们使用的是1.1 版本(version 1.1)。幸运的是，我们下载的固件运行良好。
将路由器升级到最新固件并手动设置后，您会发现一切都比使用默认设置时好得多。
在浏览所有配置菜单(configuration menus)时，您会注意到一些有用的功能被关闭，包括日志。对我们来说，这个简单的功能对于了解网络及其设备正在发生的事情很有价值。如果它对您也有用，请不要忘记打开它。其他功能可能不会为您提供价值，最好将其关闭。
浏览所有可用设置的简单练习将使您熟悉该路由器必须提供的所有功能，并且您将能够使其以您想要的方式工作，同时还可以禁用您不想使用的东西.
一旦我们配置好所有东西，路由器就会按预期工作，并且我们没有遇到任何奇怪的错误或问题。因此，我们继续评估Linksys EA6900 路由器(Linksys EA6900 router)的性能。
无线网络性能
首先，让我们看看我们在测试中使用的公寓以及它是如何设置的。可以看到路由器放在客厅(living room)。在我们的测量中，我们将Linksys EA6900与华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)（其主要竞争对手）和我们在网络中使用多年的旧版华硕 RT-N56U进行了比较。(ASUS RT-N56U)我们的测试是使用快速的 1 Gigabit 互联网连接(Gigabit Internet connection)完成的（是的，您没看错）。
在名为inSSIDer的工具的帮助下，我们测量了 2.4 GHz 无线(GHz wireless)网络的信号强度，并记录了它在不同房间之间的变化情况。如下图所示，信号强度总体上不错，但华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)在大多数房间内都能提供更好的信号强度。
在测量 5 GHz 无线(GHz wireless)网络的信号强度时发现了同样的趋势。Linksys EA6900提供的信号强度不错，但不是最好的。
然后，我们运行SpeedTest来测量两个无线网络上的下载和上传速度。在 2.4 GHz 无线(GHz wireless)网络上，Linksys EA6900在整个公寓内提供了良好的下载速度。但同样，它不是最好的，华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)在大多数房间提供了更快的下载速度。
在 2.4 GHz 无线(GHz wireless)网络的上传速度方面，Linksys EA6900在距离路由器较远的房间中的表现优于华硕 RT-AC68U 。(ASUS RT-AC68U)在靠近路由器的房间里，华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)仍然是速度领先者(speed leader)。
在评估 5 GHz 无线(GHz wireless)网络的性能时，结果并不那么清楚。在离路由器最近的房间里，Linksys EA6900的下载速度比华硕 RT-AC68U 快(ASUS RT-AC68U)。除了一个例外（厨房），在离路由器较远的房间里，华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)处于领先地位。
在 5GHz 网络的上传速度方面，赢家再次是华硕RT-AC68U。我们发现令人担忧的是，即使是我们的旧华硕 RT-N56U 路由器(ASUS RT-N56U router)也能在大多数房间中击败Linksys EA6900 。
我们的测试表明，在无线网络性能方面，Linksys EA6900 是一款功能强大的路由器，可在 2.4 GHz 和 5GHz 无线网络上提供良好的下载速度。该路由器在 2.4Ghz 网络上提供的上传速度方面表现出色，而在 5GHz 无线网络上，即使是较旧的路由器，它的性能也优于它。(Our testing has shown that in terms of wireless network performance, Linksys EA6900 is a capable router that delivers good download speeds on both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless networks. This router shines when it comes to upload speed provided on the 2.4Ghz network while on the 5GHz wireless network it is outperformed even by older routers.)
有线网络性能
为了测试有线以太网连接(Ethernet connection)的质量，我们使用了一台配备八核处理器(eight-core processor)、8GB RAM和速度非常快的ADATA SX900 SSD 驱动器(ADATA SX900 SSD drive)的台式电脑，以及一台四核的旧笔记本电脑(quad-core processor)RunCore的(RunCore)处理器和SSD 驱动(SSD drive)器。
首先，我们使用SpeedTest测量(SpeedTest)下载和上传速度(download and upload speeds)。令人惊讶的是，Linksys EA6900在(Linksys EA6900)下载速度(download speed)方面优于华硕(ASUS)的两款路由器。它比华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)慢 18% - 该测试中的领先者。
在上传速度方面，Linksys EA6900是更好的路由器，比华硕 RT-AC68U 高出(ASUS RT-AC68U)5%。
接下来，我们使用LAN Speed Test Lite来测量在通过以太网(Ethernet)电缆连接到网络的两台计算机之间传输 350 MB 文件时的(MB file)下载和上传速度。(download and upload speeds)在本次测试中，Linksys EA6900比华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)慢 3% 。
在上传速度方面也是如此。Linksys EA6900比华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)慢7%。
最后但同样重要的是，我们通过网络在相同的两台计算机之间传输了一个 883 MB 的文件。(MB file)不幸的是，使用Linksys EA6900 路由器时的(Linksys EA6900 router)下载速度(download speed)远低于使用我们用于比较的任何华硕路由器时的下载速度。(ASUS)Linksys EA6900比华硕 RT-AC68U 路由器(ASUS RT-AC68U router)慢 29% 。
在上传速度方面，成绩更好，但Linksys EA6900仍然比华硕 RT-AC68U(ASUS RT-AC68U)慢 3% 。
在有线以太网连接方面，Linksys EA6900 提供的平均性能并未接近其 1 Gbps 的承诺。(In terms of wired Ethernet connections, Linksys EA6900 delivers average performance that doesn't come close to its promise of 1 Gbps.)
额外功能
Linksys EA6900以向买家索要的高价提供了一些有趣且有用的额外功能：
访客访问(Guest access)- 您可以为您的访客设置不同的无线网络(wireless network)，以便他们可以使用它来访问Internet并与您的网络的其余部分保持隔离。
家长控制(Parental Controls)- 一项简单的功能，可让您在特定时间限制任何设备的Internet 访问(Internet access)（而不是网络访问(network access)）。此外，您可以阻止对特定网站的访问。
USB 存储(USB Storage)- 您可以使用两个可用的USB端口连接外部磁盘驱动器并与网络上的设备共享它们。您可以使用用户名和密码(username and password)设置安全访问，也可以将路由器传输到FTP 服务器(FTP server)或媒体服务器(Media server)。
Media prioritization - with the help of the QoS feature, you can prioritize different devices, applications or online games. Setting up this feature is very visual and it generally works well.
Speed Test - this is a very basic feature that allows you to measure the download and upload speed available using SpeedTest. Unfortunately this widget is not customizable and you are better off using the SpeedTest website.
Smart Wi-Fi apps - Linksys provides additional Smart Wi-Fi apps for different mobile platforms. With the help of these apps you can monitor remotely what's going on in your network, share content with others or block devices. Unfortunately some of these apps cost extra while others are available only for certain platforms. Only iOS users get access to all the apps. In contrast, Windows Phone users get access only to one app.
与竞争对手相比，Linksys EA6900缺少一些功能，例如可以作为网络的VPN 服务器运行，或者(VPN server)ASUS RT-AC68U上的双 WAN 功能。
判决
Linksys 智能 Wi-Fi EA6900 路由器(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router)是一款运行良好并提供良好性能的好设备，没有任何错误或问题。新手和知识渊博的用户都可以使用它，它提供了您期望从高级路由器获得的自定义选项。用户界面存在一些可用性问题，但最大的问题是它没有在竞争中脱颖而出。对于Linksys要求的高价标签(price tag)，您可以获得良好的性能、可定制性和功能(customizability and features)，但它并没有什么特别之处。对于相同的价格标签(price tag)您可以从其他供应商处获得具有更多功能的更好的路由器。这就是为什么我们建议您先对其进行测试，看看您是否对它提供的内容感到满意。如果不是，请尝试我们测试过的其他一些路由器。
Reviewing the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router - Is This a Smart Router?
This is the first time we get the chance to test and review a router from Linksуs and, luckily, we are reviewing а premium model which promіses great рerfоrmance and plenty of features: the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router. As you would expect, this is a dual-band router with support for the latest 802.11aс wireless networkіng standard. Consіdering how much brand recognitіon Linksys has in the nеtworking space, we were very curious to learn how good this devіce is and whether it delivers on its promises. Read this review to disсover what we have learned.
Unboxing the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router
Inside the box of the Linksys EA6900 router, you will find the following: the router, three external antennas, the power adapter, a quick setup guide, a network cable and a disc with the documentation in multiple languages. There is no traditional installation disc available. As you will see later on, the entire setup is done using a web browser and the network cable that's provided in the packaging of this router.
For more details about the unboxing experience, don't hesitate to view the brief video below:
Hardware Specifications
Let's take a look at the most important specifications promoted by Linksys for this router:
First of all, Linksys EA6900 is a dual-band router with support for the 802.11ac wireless networking standard. It transmits the wireless signal both at the 2.4GHz frequency (for which it promises a maximum throughput of 600 Mbps) and at 5 GHz (for which it promises a maximum throughput of 1300 Mbps). It has three adjustable external antennas which are easy to plug in. Unfortunately they never feel very stable, no matter which way you connect them in the back of the router.
In terms of wired connectivity, this router has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. It also includes two USB ports: one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0. Since this is a premium device, I would have expected two USB 3.0 ports.
As with all modern routers in this price range, it includes features like support for DLNA streaming, Quality of Service (QOS) and parental controls.
You can find the complete list of specifications here: Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6900.
Setting Up & Using the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router
When setting up the Linksys EA6900 for the first time, first connect the antennas to the back of the router. Then, connect it to a power outlet and plug in the Internet cable in the port that's marked with the label Internet. Connect the router to your desktop PC or your laptop with the network cable that's found inside the box. Obviously, you should plug it into one of the four Ethernet ports on the back of the router.
Then, wait for the router to boot. During the boot procedure, the power light in front of the router will turn on and off intermittently. When the router has finished booting, the power light is solid.
Next, open your favorite browser and go to http://www.linksyssmartwifi.com or to 192.168.1.1 (the default IP address of the router) and follow the setup wizard.
Unfortunately, if you are using a PPPoE Internet connection like we do, Linksys EA6900 fails to correctly detect it. This means that you will waste quite a bit of time setting it up and you have to perform a manual setup of your Internet connection.
Another issue we have found is that the setup wizard includes a mandatory step of checking for the latest firmware update. In theory this is good, but only when it has managed to correctly set your Internet connection. Unfortunately, this check is enforced even when your Internet connection is not correctly identified. This means that you will waste even more time, until the router understands that it cannot connect to the Internet and download the latest firmware. This is unfortunate and we wish Linksys had made a better setup wizard.
Once you are connected to the Internet, you can start configuring the router in detail. For those of you who are not very technical, Linksys includes a card with the default name for the 2.4 GHz wireless network and its password. We advise against using these defaults, as they represent a security risk. Also, it is better to configure its settings so that you can use the wireless networking standards you need, get better security and better speeds when using the network.
Linksys EA6900 provides support for 22 languages. You can see them listed in the screenshot below. Unfortunately the multilingual support on the Linksys EA6900 is weaker than that of its direct competitors.
The homepage of this router's control panel looks friendly and seems easy to use. You have a column with several categories on the left and several widgets with live data on the right. You can easily turn on and off these widgets or add new ones.
We have learned that the options found in the Smart Wi-Fi Tools section are generally friendly and easy to use. For them, the user interface is simple and it offers all the data and configuration options you would expect.
The weak point of the user interface is the Router Settings section. There are lots of settings available and they are not always grouped in a friendly or logical manner. They are rather crowded and hard to find. To give you a few examples: the reboot option is hidden under Troubleshooting -> Diagnostics. It took us a very long time to find it.
The firmware version used by the router is an important piece of information that you might want to know. Unfortunately, in order to learn it, you need to go to Sign Out -> About. Why is this information not shown on the homepage of the router's control panel? Or at least under Help -> About, as is the case when using software of all kinds?
Speaking of firmware, we have upgraded the Linksys EA6900 to the latest version that was available at the time of our testing: 1.1.42.158863.
Another firmware related issue that we have identified is that when you go to the Linksys Support website and you want to download the latest firmware, you will learn that there are two different hardware versions of this router. Unfortunately there's no easy way to tell which version you have and there is no guidance provided by Linksys. Since our test model is a newly manufactured device, we assumed that we are using version 1.1. Luckily, the firmware we have downloaded worked well.
After you upgrade the router to the latest firmware and you manually set things up, you will notice that everything works much better than when using the defaults.
While browsing through all the configuration menus, you will notice that some useful features are turned off, including the logs. For us, this simple feature is valuable in understanding what is going on with the network and its devices. Don't forget to turn it on if it is useful to you too. Other features may not provide value to you and it is best to turn them off.
The simple exercise of browsing through all the available settings will make you familiar with all the features this router has to offer and you will be able to make it work the way you want to, while also disabling the things you don't want to use.
Once we had everything configured, the router worked as we expected and we did not encounter any strange bugs or issues. Therefore we moved on to evaluating the performance delivered by the Linksys EA6900 router.
Wireless Network Performance
First, let's take a look at the apartment we used in our testing and how it is set up. You can see that the router is placed in the living room. In our measurements, we have compared the Linksys EA6900 against ASUS RT-AC68U (its main competitor) and an older ASUS RT-N56U that we have used for several years in our network. Our testing was done using a fast 1 Gigabit Internet connection (yes, you read that correctly).
With the help of a tool named inSSIDer, we have measured the signal stregth for the 2.4 GHz wireless network and recorded how it changes from room to room. As you can see in the chart below, the signal strength was generally good but ASUS RT-AC68U delivered better signal strength in most rooms.
The same trend was noticed when measuring the signal strength of the 5 GHz wireless network. The signal strength provided by Linksys EA6900 was good but not the best.
Then, we ran SpeedTest for measuring the download and upload speed on both wireless networks. On the 2.4 GHz wireless network, Linksys EA6900 offered good download speeds across the apartment. But again, it was not the best and ASUS RT-AC68U offered better faster downloads in most rooms.
In terms of upload speeds on the 2.4 GHz wireless network, Linksys EA6900 managed to outperform ASUS RT-AC68U in those rooms that are further away from the router. In the rooms that are closer to the router, ASUS RT-AC68U remained the speed leader.
When evaluating the performance of the 5 GHz wireless network, the results were not as clear. In the rooms that are closest to the router, Linksys EA6900 delivered faster downloads than the ASUS RT-AC68U. With one exception (the kitchen), in the rooms that are further away from the router, ASUS RT-AC68U took the lead.
In terms of the upload speed on the 5GHz network, the winner was again ASUS RT-AC68U. We found it worrying that even our old ASUS RT-N56U router managed to beat Linksys EA6900 in most rooms.
Our testing has shown that in terms of wireless network performance, Linksys EA6900 is a capable router that delivers good download speeds on both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless networks. This router shines when it comes to upload speed provided on the 2.4Ghz network while on the 5GHz wireless network it is outperformed even by older routers.
Wired Network Performance
In order to test the quality of the wired Ethernet connection, we have used a desktop PC, equipped with an eight-core processor, 8GB of RAM and a very fast ADATA SX900 SSD drive, as well as an old laptop with a quad-core processor and an SSD drive from RunCore.
First, we measured the download and upload speeds using SpeedTest. Surprisingly, Linksys EA6900 was outperformed by both ASUS routers in terms of download speed. It was 18% slower than the ASUS RT-AC68U - the leader in this test.
In terms of upload speed, Linksys EA6900 was the better router, managing to outperform ASUS RT-AC68U by 5%.
Next, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the download and upload speeds when transferring a 350 MB file to and from two computers connected to the network via Ethernet cables. In this test, Linksys EA6900 was 3% slower than ASUS RT-AC68U.
The same remained true in terms of upload speed. Linksys EA6900 was slower than ASUS RT-AC68U by 7%.
Last but not least, we transferred an 883 MB file across the network, between the same two computers. Unfortunately the download speed was much lower when using the Linksys EA6900 router than when using any of the ASUS routers we used for our comparison. Linksys EA6900 was 29% slower than the ASUS RT-AC68U router.
In terms of upload speed, the results were better, but Linksys EA6900 was still 3% slower than ASUS RT-AC68U.
In terms of wired Ethernet connections, Linksys EA6900 delivers average performance that doesn't come close to its promise of 1 Gbps.
Extra Features
Linksys EA6900 delivers some interesting and useful extra features for the premium price it asks from its buyers:
Guest access - you can set up a different wireless network for your guests so that they can use it to access the Internet and remain isolated from the rest of your network.
Parental Controls - a simple feature that allows you to restrict Internet access (not network access) for any of your devices, at specific times. Also, you can block access to specific websites.
USB Storage - you can use the two USB ports available to connect external disk drives and share them with the devices on your network. You can set up secure access with a username and password and also transfer the router into an FTP server or a Media server.
Media prioritization - with the help of the QoS feature, you can prioritize different devices, applications or online games. Setting up this feature is very visual and it generally works well.
Speed Test - this is a very basic feature that allows you to measure the download and upload speed available using SpeedTest. Unfortunately this widget is not customizable and you are better off using the SpeedTest website.
Smart Wi-Fi apps - Linksys provides additional Smart Wi-Fi apps for different mobile platforms. With the help of these apps you can monitor remotely what's going on in your network, share content with others or block devices. Unfortunately some of these apps cost extra while others are available only for certain platforms. Only iOS users get access to all the apps. In contrast, Windows Phone users get access only to one app.
When compared to its competition, Linksys EA6900 lacks features like the possibility to run as a VPN server for your network or the Dual-WAN feature found on the ASUS RT-AC68U.
Verdict
The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router is a good device that works well and delivers good performance, without any bugs or issues. It can be used by both novices and knowledgeable users and it offers the customization options you expect from a premium router. There are some usability problems when it comes to the user interface but its biggest problem is that it doesn't stand out from the competition. For the premium price tag asked by Linksys you get good performance, customizability and features but there's nothing great or extraordinary about it. For the same price tag you can get a better router with more features, from another vendor. That's why we recommend that you test it first and see if you are happy with what it delivers. If you are not, try some of the other routers we have tested.
