This was the way I took to build it on a 16 core machine, it needs a lot of free space (30 GB at least). Once everything is plugged in and powered up, you can configure the C7 with a Web browser and any connected device — a distinct advantage over OnHub's reliance on an Android or iOS app. There has been a steady interest in TP-LINK’s first attempt at an AC1750 class router, the Archer C7, which we reviewed about a year ago. At the very least, not in my case, although the router is being used as a dumb access point, the heavywork is done on a RPI4).

Comprising the most weight out of any of the metrics in this test, our Features metric accounts for 25% of the total score. We will see how good this model this after so many years considering TP-Link never actually say what has changed. I successfully loaded DDWRT firmware with the TP-Link oem webgui when I used that particular oem version. The Archer C7's user interface could use an update, however, and its file-transfer performance could be better.

It's recommended that users stop all Internet applications on the computer, or simply disconnect Internet line from the device before the upgrade. You receive the GPL source codes of the respective software used in TP-Link products for direct download and further information, including a list of TP-Link software that contain GPL software code under GPL Code Center. We used the results of an iPerf3 test to determine throughput, with the average of three trials for each of the five tests we did to determine the score. With one gigabit WAN port and four gigabit LAN ports, speeds can be up to 10× faster than standard Ethernet connections. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space.

Filtering the Router Ranker to show only products tested with the latest method (magenta color bar), the C7 V2 takes the top position. The TP-Link is a high end router with matching high end performance and given the results in the above review, the AC1750 deserves nothing short of the performance award. Where problems arise is when the number of concurrent clients connected (in my case at least, YMMV) are more than 10 (See my post with details here: I need help on a router).Because clients can be authenticated with a Radius server, the C7 is secure enough for a small business.

But since both products are on the shelves waiting for you to open your wallet, both are fair game for review. I chose to compare the C7 with two other top-ranking, but both Broadcom-based AC1750 class routers, the ASUS RT-AC66U and D-Link DIR-868L. With that, all TP-Link cloud devices will appear once logged in to your TP-Link ID on the Tether app.

LAN: 4 x 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 , WAN: 1 x 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 , USB 2. Since I'm (no pun intended) not much of a power user myself I assume this means the v5 uses less power? The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. For the final test of this metric, the long-distance obstructed test, we had about 70' and a few walls separating the test computer from the router.