I See, Therefore I Net: August 2015

I have been reading reviews on the D-Link DIR-890L AC3200 Wireless Tri-Band Gigabit Cloud Router a while back and recently. With the launch of D-Link DWA-192 AC1900 Wireless USB 3.0 adapter, a matching wireless external adapter for the router, i decided it is time for me to bring home the monster..

DIR-890L and DWA-192

Technical Specifications

General

Device Interfaces

802.11a/g/n/ac wireless LAN
Four 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN ports
10/100/1000 Gigabit WAN por
Two USB ports (one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0)

Standards

IEEE 802.11ac
IEEE 802.11n
IEEE 802.11g
IEEE 802.11a
IEEE 802.3
IEEE 802.3u

Functionality

Advanced Features

SmartConnect
Guest zone
mydlink SharePort™ web access
Multi-language web setup wizard
Green Ethernet
DLNA media server support
Advanced AC SmartBeam
Dual active firewall
Network Address Translation (NAT)
Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI)
VPN Passthrough (PPTP/L2TP/IPsec)
Advanced QoS
QuickVPN - L2TP over IPsec

D-Link market DIR-890L as AC3200 over its previous generation of AC1900. AC1900 is the combined throughput of 600 mbps in 2.4 GHz and 1300 mbps in 5 GHz giving a total of 1900 mbps. DIR-890L uses Tri-Band Technology which have 3 radio operating in the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz spectrum delivering a total of 600 mbps + 1300 mbps + 1300 mbps = 3200 mbps and thus the name convention of AC3200

Tri-Band Technology delivering AC3200

With Tri-Band Technology and speeds up to 3200 mbps, it delivers performance to power demanding connected homes claiming it the best wireless home router for gaming.

Tri-Band Wireless

DIR-890L comes in 2 variants. Hardware wise, they are exactly the same except for the black and the red housing. In line with our nation's 50th years of independence, its not surprising that i chose for the bolder red version.

DIR-890L

The box containing DIR-890L is HUGE. The amount of stares i garnered bringing the monster back home on public transport is tremendous. Lets see the contents in the box.

DIR-890L Contents

To support the increase in third wireless radio, D-Link bundled a 12V 5A power brick delivering up to 60W of power!

12V 5A power brick

The DWA-192 AC1900 Wi-Fi USB 3.0 Adapter lets you connect over the 2.4 GHz (600 Mbps) and 5 GHz (up to 1300 Mbps), for faster streaming, gaming, and VoIP calls. In addition, its Advanced AC Smart Beam technology brings high-bandwidth wireless connectivity, vastly increasing the speed and coverage of your network via USB 3.0