D-Link Demonstrates Innovative Networking Solutions at CES

D-Link had two major core networking announcements at CES along with a host of updates for their home automation product line. There are a number of things to discuss with respect to the core networking announcements. So, I will get the minor home automation stuff out of the way first.

D-Link has been offering a set of home automation products with unified cloud-based control using the mydlink Home app. At CES, they announced the integration of the IFTTT (If-this-then-that) service with the app, allowing more customization in the home automation experience. It is slated to appear in the free app later this quarter. IFTTT integration has been a staple of many home automation products (including the Belkin WeMo) for some time now. So, it is good to see D-Link putting the effort to integrate with IFTTT with their own cloud back-end.

The other home automation-related announcement was a new product – a Wi-Fi based alarm detector. Simply put, this device plugs into a wall outlet and connects via Wi-Fi to the Internet. A microphone in the device is set to trigger an alarm if the sound of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm is heard. This allows legacy smoke and CO detectors to become part of the smart home – definitely more cost effective than installing completely new smoke alarms (like what Nest suggests). D-Link indicated that, in the future, it might also be able to make the microphones in their IP cameras do the same job.

Moving on to the core networking announcements, we first have the EXO series of routers. This series has two members, the AC1750 DIR-869 and the AC1900 DIR-879. Both have a 3×3 configuration in the 5GHz band for 1300 Mbps of theoretical bandwidth. However, the DIR-879 does 600 Mbps in the 2.4GHz band and the DIR-869 does 450 Mbps in the same. The DIR-869 will retail for $130 and the DIR-879 will retail for $150 when they go on sale later this quarter.

In order to achieve this lower price, D-Link has opted to not integrate a USB port on either model. Both have a hardware toggle switch to move between router and extender modes. However, the devices do have high-performance power amplifiers (1000mW). The interesting aspect here is the core platform. While vendors such as Amped Wireless have gone in for the integrated Qualcomm Atheros 2×2 solution for their $130-price point router, D-Link has moved to Realtek for the same. The SoC used is the RTL8198C with a 620 MHz MIPS-based dual-core host processor and 5 GbE ports integrated. The WLAN chips are RTL8814AR for the 5GHz radio and RTL8194AR for the 2.4GHz radio.

The most innovative demonstration in D-Link’s suite was the Unified Home Wi-Fi Networking Kit with Adaptive Roaming Technology (DKT-891). This is a router-extender kit that will retail at $370when it launches in Q2. The DKT-891 consists of two products – the DIR-891L, an AC4300 tri-band MU-MIMO router, and the DAP-1655, an AC1300 gigabit Wi-Fi extender. The DIR-891L seems to be the first tri-band 4×4 router based on a Qualcomm Atheros chipset. With two 5GHz 4×4 radios, each band can support 1733 Mbps (for a total of 3466 Mbps). The 2.4 GHz band can support 800 Mbps with the 256-QAM feature. This gives a total bandwidth of 4266 Mbps, enabling classification as a AC4300 class router. The DAP-1655 provides 867 Mbps in the single 5GHz band and 450 Mbps in the 2.4GHz.

The Unified Home Wi-Fi Networking Kit with Adaptive Roaming is based on Qualcomm’s Wi-Fi S.O.N technology (video). At their CES suite, D-Link demonstrated ‘Smart Steering’ – clients moving from the router to the extender automatically (depending on which one was providing a better signal). They also showed ‘Dynamic Adaptation’ – clients moving inbetween the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for load balancing purposes. All of this was done without any end-user intervention. Even though the demonstration looked market ready, it is likely that more ‘interoperability’ testing will be needed. Getting ‘Smart Steering’ and ‘Dynamic Adaptation’ to work across multiple client platforms will definitely be a challenge.

Gallery: D-Link at CES 2016

In addition to the above new announcements, D-Link also showed their currently-shipping Broadcom-based Ultra series of routers. the 3×3 DWA-192 USB 3.0 AC1900 WLAN adapter and some IP cameras (including the Komfy switch launched in November).

Amped Wireless Launches APOLLO IP Cameras and Updates Networking Lineup at CES

Amped Wireless is popular for marketing equipment with long range, high-performance power amplifiers and high-gain antennas. At CES, they had the usual updates to the networking lineup – new Wi-Fi routers and range extenders. In addition, they also announced their entry into the IP camera space with two Wi-Fi cameras.

The APOLLO IP Camera Lineup

The lineup consists of two members, the APOLLO and the APOLLO PRO. They both have wireless capabilities. Amped Wireless claims that these models can be placed 3x the distance away compared to the average Wi-Ficamera. While the APOLLO will have a 80 degree viewing angle and a 1-way microphone, the APOLLO PRO will have a 110 degree viewing angle and 2-way microphone and speaker. Both cameras have a 720p resolution and night vision is available. The external 3.5dBi antenna is detachable on both models.

The setup as well as day to day operation is geared towards the average consumer by the usage of mobile apps and a cloud recording backend. The cameras are priced at $150 and $180 respectively, and will be available towards the end of this quarter.

ARTEMIS AC1300 Family

The ARTEMIS lineup of networking products includes a router, range extender (ARTEMIS-EX) and an access point (ARTEMIS-AP). Priced at $130, these products come with up to 5 GbE ports and a USB 3.0 port. MU-MIMO is supported out of the box, pointing to a Qualcomm Atheros platform.

Based on the specifications and the cost, it appears that the product line uses the IPQ40x8/x9 SoC.

ATHENA AC2600 Family

The ATHENA lineup includes the ATHENA-R2 router and the ATHENA-EX Wi-Fi extender, both with advanced MU-MIMO capabilities. Compared to the first generation MU-MIMO routers, this device can support up to four simultaneous MU-MIMO clients. It also supports 160 MHz channels.

Based on the specifications, it appears that the units are based on the QCA9984 radio. The SoC is not clear – as the brochure given to the press indicates a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor for the router (RTA2600-R2) and a dual-core processor for the range extender (RE2600M). Note that the Nighthawk X4S from Netgear which has the QCA9984 radio uses a 1.7GHz IPQ8065 SoC. The ATHENA router will be priced at $240, while the extender will be $220 when they launch at the end of this quarter.

REC22P Range Extender

This is an interesting product in the sense that it bundles a rapid charging USB Type-A port as well as a passthrough power outlet in the device. The range extender effectively doesn’t use up a wall outlet. It is a AC1200 device (867 Mbps in the 5 GHz and 300 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz – a 2×2 configuration).

The REC22P will be available in late February for $100.

The specifications of the various routers, access points and range extenders currently marketed by Amped Wireless are reproduced from the press brochure in the gallery below.

Gallery: Amped Wireless Q1 2016 Product Offerings

On the whole, it is pleasing to see Amped Wireless trying to move beyond the core networking devices (such as routers / access points / range extenders) and on to allied products such as IP cameras. For mass acceptance, IP cameras need to be backed up by good user experience, and Amped Wireless seems to be focusing more on that rather than the hardware specifications alone. On the core side, Amped Wireless seems to be all in on the Qualcomm Atheros platforms for their flagship ATHENA lineup and the ARTEMIS value play.

G-Technology Demonstrates G-SPEED Shuttle XL Thunderbolt 2 DAS at CES

As part of every CES trip, I make it a point to visit G-Technology and see what they are introducing into the DAS (direct attached storage) market. This year, there were no major announcements except for the introduction of a Type-C interface for some of their external hard drives. These are still USB 3.0 drives, as there is not much to gain by moving to a USB 3.1 interface for hard drives. However, it must be noted that these 2.5″ drives are 7200 RPM ones providing that extra bit of performance compared to the 5400 RPM drives used by most vendors. G-Technology expects the 1TB version to have a MSRP of $130 when it launches in February.

Coming back to the more impressive part of my visit to the suite, G-Technology showed the various features of the G-SPEED Shuttle XL. This 8-bay hardware RAID solution comes with two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The platform itself is very similar to the G-SPEED Studio XL introduced by G-Technology at IBC 2015 in September. This product also has two ev Series Bay Adapters which enable support for the G-DRIVE ev modules. These modules can easily be swapped across different interface modules for use in rugged environments, or just for portability, or even with high-capacity arrays like the G-SPEED Studio / Shuttle XL.

The Shuttle XL can be oriented either vertically or horizontally. In the horizontal configuration, it can even be used as a stand for the notebook (to which it may connect). G-Technology also has an adapter for a RED MINI-MAG so that it can be read into the computer directly through the Shuttle XL. A RED MINI-MAG and a G-DRIVE ev SSD are shown connected to the Shuttle XL using the two ev Series Bay Adapters in the above picture. The Shuttle XL also has a custom-designed transportation case for portability across different work locations.

Claimed transfer rates are around 1350 MBps. The disks can be configured in RAID 0,1,5,6,10 and 50. The unit is sold with enterprise-class hard drives with pricing ranging from $3500 for 24TB to $8000 for 64TB. G-Technology provides a 3-year warranty for the product.

We saw LaCie launch a 8-bay Thunderbolt 2 1U rackmount unit, the 8big Rack Thunderbolt 2 a couple of years back. It is interesting to see G-Technology have a ‘portable’ take on the8-bay hardware RAID Thunderbolt 2 enclosure market.  From an end-user perspective, it is great to have both choices and one can let the usage model dictate the suitable solution.