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Reviewer Guide Linksys EA9300

Linksys AC4000 MU-MIMO TRI-BAND ROUTER

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Reviewers Guide Linksys EA9300

MAX-STREAM AC4000 MU-MIMO TRI-BAND ROUTER

Features to look for:

Tri-Band Design with three dedicated Wi-Fi bands delivering combined speed up to 4 Gbps ― double the capacity of 5 GHz band comparing to dual-band wireless routers

Smart Connect intelligently chooses the best radio band for each wireless device to ensure fast and optimized performance

1.8 GHz High-Performance Quad-Core Processor to drive the fastest wired and wireless network speeds

Powerful 3x3 AC Wi-Fi Radios with MU-MIMO delivering up to 6 simultaneous MU-MIMO streams ― gaming and streaming on multiple devices at the same time without speed degradation and wasted bandwidth

Six Adjustable Antennas for wide, omnidirectional coverage in very large single or multi-story homes

Two USB 3.0 Ports provide flexible network access storage solution and fast data transfer of photos, video, data files across your network ― giving you the ultimate media streaming experience.

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi: Access and control your home network from anywhere using a web browser or mobile device

Auto Firmware Update gives you peace-of-mind of knowing your router is always current with the latest features and security updates

Additional Features:

• Concurrent tri-band wireless operation (750 + 1625 + 1625 Mbps)* • High-power wi-fi amplifiers • Advanced beamforming technology • Data transfer rates of up to 750 Mbps on 2.4GHz band (3 spatial streams with 1024-QAM)* • Data transfer rates of up to 1625 Mbps on each 5GHz band (3 spatial streams with 1024-QAM)* • Four gigabit LAN ports + one gigabit WAN port • Integrated DHCP server with dynamic and static IP address assignment • PPTP, IPSec and L2TP pass-through • Storage features for external USB hard disk and flash drives (supports FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and HFS+) • UPnP IGD and media server • Supports DLNA for home media management • Virtual USB support • Wall mountable

* Specifications subject to change without notice. Actual performance may vary. Performance is dependent on products used, interference, and other external conditions.

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Installation of EA9300

The new Linksys MAX-STREAM AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Router can be configured with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router setup. Plug in the router to a power source with the provided power adapter and power cord. Wait until the illuminated Linksys logo on the top of the router stops blinking and is solid white.

To configure the router for the first time:

1. Connect to the secured wireless network shown on the label on the bottom of the router (“Wi-Fi Name”). Select the option to automatically connect to this network in the future.

2. Open a web browser to launch Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router setup instructions. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete your router setup. If you do not see the setup instructions, type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar.

3. If you would like to manually configure your router, click on the link “Manual Configuration” at the lower left corner. The router will prompt you for router password. The default router password is admin.

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4. In Smart Wi-Fi Tools, go to Wireless, turn off Smart Connect and give 2 different network names to 5GHz1 and 5GHz2, then click Apply. This is for demonstration of the performance of each individual frequency band in the following tests.

General Suggestions

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In order to get consistent and repeatable results, we suggest you control the variables of the test:

o Turn off all interfering devices, for example, wireless routers/access point/wireless range extenders that will not

participate in the test, Bluetooth devices (e.g. cell phone) and microwave ovens.

o Use the same location, time of day and equipment

Single-Client Performance Testing

Objective: To demonstrate the performance brought by 3x3 wireless technology. We suggest you to use the following setup to conduct performance test:

- Configure the router with the following settings:

o Use WPA2-Personal if you wish to conduct the test with wireless security enabled

o Set Network Mode to Mixed

o If you are testing 5GHz (802.11ac), set Channel Width to 80 MHz

o If you are testing 2.4GHz (802.11n), set Channel Width to Auto

o Select a channel that has the least interference

o Set QoS and Parental Controls set to Disabled

- Place EA9300 and Computer #2, the wireless client, about five (5) meters apart from each other

- Connect Computer #1 with the built-in Gigabit Ethernet port to one of the EA9300’s Ethernet (LAN) ports

- Connect Computer #2 wirelessly to one of the three wireless networks of EA9300. Computer #2 should be

equipped with a stable 3x3 802.11ac wireless adapter, for example, Macbook Pro (“late 2013” models or later).

Please do not use Linksys WUSB6100M to conduct this 3x3 single-client performance test.

o To test the performance of 802.11ac, connect to one of the two 5GHz networks

- Download iPerf3 (in zip file) from https://iperf.fr/iperf-download.php to both computers and unzip the file.

- IMPORTANT: Disable firewall, auto software update, screen saver and power save (auto sleep) on all computers.

To run the test:

On Computer #1, open a command prompt window. Change the current directory to the location where iPerf is installed. Then, execute the following iPerf command at the command prompt. iperf3 -s -f m -i 1

On Computer #2, open a command prompt windows. Change the current directory to the location where iPerf is installed. Then, execute the following iPerf command at the command prompt. iperf3 -c <IP address of Computer #1> -f m -i 1 -t 60 -w 1M -P 1

(For example, iperf3 -c 192.168.1.105 -f m -i 1 -t 60 -w 1M -P 1)

MU-MIMO Testing

Objective: To demonstrate the benefit of MU-MIMO over SU-MIMO.

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To demonstrate the benefit of MU-MIMO, first, turn off EA9300’s Smart Connect to make sure all the wireless clients are on the same frequency band. See Step 4 in “To configure the router for the first time” for instructions of turning off Smart Connect. For the best performance, we recommend the following settings on the 5GHz networks (both 5GHz1 and 5GHz2) of EA9300:

WPA2-Personal if you wish to conduct the test with wireless security enabled

Network Mode set to Mixed

Channel Width set to 80 MHz

Select a channel that has the least interference

QoS and Parental Controls set to Disabled Linksys WUSB6100M is a USB wireless adapter that supports MU-MIMO. Prepare two computers and install Linksys

WUSB6100M wireless adapter on each computer. See “Installation of WUSB6100M” at the end of this document for

instructions.

Then, set up the MU-MIMO test in the following way:

Two computers (clients), which have Linksys WUSB6100M installed, and EA9300 form a right-angled triangle (right triangle) as shown in the above diagram. The distance between the client and the router should be 6 feet or more. Another computer (Computer #3) connected to EA9300’s one of the four Ethernet ports from the computer’s built-in Gigabit Ethernet port is not shown in the above diagram. Computer #1 and #2 are wirelessly connected to one of the two 5GHz networks of EA9300. Make sure Computer #1 and #2 are connected to the same 5GHz network. Download iPerf3 (in zip file) from https://iperf.fr/iperf-download.php to each of the three computers and unzip the file. IMPORTANT: Disable firewall, auto software update, screen saver and power save (auto sleep) on all computers. A. With MU-MIMO enabled (factory default setting) On computer #1 and #2, open a command prompt window. Change the current directory to the location where iPerf3 is installed. Then, execute the following iPerf3 command at the command prompt on each of these computers. iperf3 -s -f m -i 1

On computer #3, open 2 command prompt windows. Change the current directory to the location where iPerf3 is installed in each command prompt window. Then, execute the following iPerf3 command at the command prompt in each of the command prompt window simultaneously (substitute with the actual IP address of Computer #1 and #2 respectively). iperf3 -c <IP address of Computer #1 or #2> -f m -i 1 -t 60 -w 1M -P 1

(For example, iperf3 -c 192.168.1.105 -f m -i 1 -t 60 -w 1M -P 1)

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B. With MU-MIMO disabled (SU-MIMO case) Follow the instructions at the end of this section to disable MU-MIMO on EA9300. Then, repeat the above test.

C. MU-MIMO vs SU-MIMO Comparison

Computer #1 Computer #2 Aggregate

SU-MIMO S1 S2 Sa

MU-MIMO M1 M2 Ma

% Increase Δ1 Δ2 Δa

For example:

Computer #1 Computer #2 Aggregate

SU-MIMO 153 Mbps 153 Mbps 306 Mbps

MU-MIMO 245 Mbps 251 Mbps 496 Mbps

% Increase 60% 64% 62% To enable/disable MU-MIMO support in EA9300:

From a computer that is connected to EA9300, log in to the router at 192.168.1.1. Then, visit the following router configuration page (please make sure you have logged in to the router before visiting this configuration page): http://192.168.1.1/ui/dynamic/advanced-wireless.html

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(Note: This Advanced Wireless Settings page is for testing purpose and it’s not intended for end users. Please do not publish the link of this configuration page to the general public.) Select Broadcom tab. Toggle MU-MIMO support by checking (enable) or unchecking (disable) both boxes next to “MU-MIMO Enabled”, then click the Apply button. MU-MIMO is enabled by default in EA9300.

Installation of WUSB6100M (for MU-MIMO test only)

Linksys WUSB6100M is a USB wireless adapter that supports MU-MIMO. You only need to install this wireless adapter if you are going to conduct MU-MIMO test. To install: 1. Insert WUSB6100M wireless adapter into an available USB port on your computer.

2. Watch the computer monitor as the device automatically installs. 3. If the wireless adapter does not install automatically, use the provided CD and run the driver installation file

(also available at linksys.com/support/wusb6100M).

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Note: Once the installation of WUSB6100M is successful, remember to disable the computer’s built-in wireless adapter to avoid accidental use of the incorrect wireless adapter in the MU-MIMO test. Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings. Then, right click the built-in wireless adapter and click Disable.

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If you have any questions please free to contact Karen Sohl: 714 658-7330 karen.sohl@belkin.com