On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Mike Miller <mbmiller+l at gmail.com> wrote: > What makes this router better than, say, the D-Link wireless N router I > bought in December at Micro Center for $30 (and left in Ecuador). Is it the > range? It doesn't do 802.11n, right? Is it faster than 300 Mbps? For home use, there likely wouldn't be any difference at all, aside from the Cisco being more complicated to configure. For business/enterprise use, though, the Cisco offers *much* more flexibility and *much* better performance than consumer-grade equipment. Hardware-wise, it'll have more RAM, a faster processor, and better radios. Software-wise, the Cisco will offer many more features that are essential in larger deployments (central management via a wireless controller, 802.1q support, QoS, radius/802.1x, SNMP, config via ssh, greater stability and performance under load, etc.). Regarding range, you need to remember that wireless is a two-way street. While it may be possible to turn up the TX power on the AP side, that doesn't help the signal from the client get back to the AP. Several third-party AP firmwares allow you to turn up the TX power (DD-WRT, Tomato, etc.), but this is generally ill-advised except in a few limited circumstances. In addition to the client range issue, turning up transmit power can not only reduce the linearity of of the finals, introducing distortion into the RF signal, but also can push the SWR[1] up over what the finals can handle, putting them at risk of burning out. -Erik [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_wave_ratio