Comparison TP-LINK Omada ER605 vs MikroTik RB4011iGS+RM

— Desktop. Desktop routers include routers that do not use special rack mounts and are suitable for placement on any suitable surface — a table, shelf, etc. Although there are quite advanced models among desktop devices, however, most of them have relatively simple functionality and are designed for use in small networks where an abundance of equipment is not required.

— Rack mounted. Routers that are standard installed in a telecommunications rack are usually 19 "standard (although technically many of them can also be used as desktop ones, albeit with less convenience). Racks are used in extensive networks that require a large amount of equipment; accordingly, routers of this type in general, more powerful and advanced than the desktop, and are designed primarily for professional use.

— To the mast. Installation on a mast or other vertical structure — a tower, a pole, etc. Quite a rare form factor; It is mainly used in waterproof models designed for the possibility of working outdoors. Mobile network capable devices in this category may have a directional antenna to improve connectivity.

How the router connects to the Internet or other external network.

Almost all modern routers have ethernet network connectors for this purpose, however, in addition to them, other connection options can be provided — both wired ( ADSL, SFP / SFP + optics) and wireless (mobile access via 3G / 4G modem or SIM card). Here are the features of each option:

— Ethernet. A standard LAN network cable connector (“twisted pair”) is the most popular modern wired connection format in computer networks. Widely used both in "local" and to provide access to the Internet. This standard is somewhat inferior to SFP / SFP + (see below) in terms of speed and noise immunity, but it is much cheaper. The speed of work in modern versions of Ethernet can reach 10 Gbps (see "Connection speed of WAN ports"), theoretically, a further increase in throughput is possible.

— SFP / SFP + (optics). A connector for transmitting network traffic over a fiber optic cable. The main advantage of such a cable is complete insensitivity to electromagnetic interference. And data transfer rates can reach 2.7 Gbps in the original SFP and 16 Gbps in SFP+. At the same time, maintaining this standard is not cheap, and the benefits mentioned are not often needed in fact. Therefore, SFP / SFP + is found mainly in mid-range a...nd top-level routers.

— ADSL. Connecting to the Internet through a fixed telephone network using ADSL technology. The key advantage of this connection is the ability to use existing networks without laying additional wires; at the same time, Internet access is completely separated from telephone communication and traffic does not interfere with voice calls. On the other hand, the bandwidth of ADSL is very low by modern standards (less than 24 Mbps), moreover, the data transmission speed is noticeably lower than the reception speed. This can create problems for video communication and some other specific tasks. So nowadays ADSL is used less and less.

— 3G/4G modem (USB). Internet connection via mobile network using a separate 3G or 4G modem connected to the USB port. This feature can be useful where there is no full-fledged wired connection (for example, in rural areas), and also as a fallback option in case the main communication channel fails. And the type of network supported depends mainly on the modem used (the compatibility of the router with different models needs to be specified separately, but most often there are no problems with this). As for specific types of networks, most 3G modems work in UMTS networks (the same ones that are massively used by mobile phones); the data transfer rate in such networks can reach 75 Mbit / s (however, usually it is much lower). Less common are 3G modems for EV-DO networks based on CDMA — this standard has lower speeds (up to 14.7 Mbps) and not as extensive coverage as UMTS, however, both the equipment and the connection itself can be cheaper. And the designation "4G" means only one type of networks — LTE; it provides speeds up to 173 Mbps, but is not as widespread as 3G.

— SIM card. Another option for connecting to the Internet via mobile networks is its own SIM card slot provided in the design of the router. This option is convenient because you do not need to buy an additional device (modem) for mobile Internet — you just need to purchase an operator's SIM card. On the other hand, due to the built-in mobile communication modules, such routers themselves are more expensive than analogues for USB modems. In addition, the connectivity options in them are limited by the characteristics of the module: for example, a router for 3G networks will not be able to fully use 4G networks (whereas a USB modem can usually be changed to a more advanced one). As a result, this option is relatively rare in modern equipment.

The number of standard RJ-45 network connectors of the Fast Ethernet format, provided in the design of the device.

Fast Ethernet is the most modest of the wired connection formats over a twisted-pair network cable in our time - it provides data transfer rates up to 100 Mbps. Nevertheless, even this speed is often enough for relatively simple tasks that are not associated with large amounts of data.

As for the number of connectors, it corresponds to the number of network devices that can be connected to the "switch" directly, without the use of additional equipment.

The number of optical network ports of the SFP standard provided in the design of the device. We emphasize that we are talking about "ordinary" SFPs; SFP+ data is usually listed separately.

Specifically, in switches, the marking “SFP” usually means a connector for fiber with a connection speed of 1 Gbps. Technically, this is not much compared to RJ-45 speeds; however, this connection format has a number of advantages. One of the main ones is a greater effective range: the mentioned gigabit standard works with a cable length of up to 550 m, and by the standards of optical fiber, this is still very little. True, the cable itself is sensitive to kinks and requires quite delicate handling; on the other hand, it is completely immune to electromagnetic interference. On the other hand, in general, the SFP format is noticeably less popular in network equipment than RJ-45; therefore, there are few ports of this type even in advanced devices ( 1 port or 2 ports, less often more). It is also worth considering that there may be so-called combo connectors that combine SFP and RJ-45; the presence of such ports is specified in the notes, they are taken into account both in the calculation of RJ-45 and in the calculation of SFP.

The number of ports designated as WAN by the manufacturer. They are intended for wired connection of the device to the Internet or other external networks (to solve some specific problems).

In this case, dedicated LANs mean directly marked network connectors designed for wired connection of LAN devices - PCs, servers, additional access points, etc. The number of ports corresponds to the number of devices that can be directly connected to the equipment by wire.

The number of WAN/LAN combo ports specified by the manufacturer in the device design that can be reassigned to work with both an external WAN and a local LAN. Such a solution allows to reduce the total number of connection ports and at the same time expand the functionality of the equipment for flexible adaptation to user needs.

The presence of a console port in the router. This connector is used to control the device settings from a separate computer, which plays the role of a control panel — a console. The advantage of this format of operation is that access to the functions of the router does not depend on the state of the network; in addition, special utilities can be used on the console that provide more extensive capabilities than a regular web interface or network protocols (see "Management"). An RS-232 connector is often used as a console port, but in modern routers this role can also be played by a separate Ethernet input (not used for any other purpose).

Management methods and protocols supported by the router.

— SSH. Abbreviation for Secure Shell, i.e. "Safe shell". The SSH protocol provides a fairly high degree of security, because. encrypts all transmitted data, including passwords. Suitable for managing almost all major network protocols, but requires a special utility on the host computer.

— Telnet. A network management protocol that provides configuration via a text-based command line. It does not use encryption and does not protect transmitted data, and is also devoid of a graphical interface, which is why in many areas it has been supplanted by more secure (SSH) or more convenient (web interface) options. However, it is still used in modern network equipment — in particular, as a means of managing FTP servers.

— Web interface. This function allows you to open the router's management interface in a regular Internet browser. Thus, to access the settings, you do not need special software — just a regular computer or even a smartphone / tablet is enough (modern mobile browsers are close to desktop ones in terms of capabilities).

— SNMP. Abbreviation for Simple Network Management Protocol, i.e. "simple network control protocol". It is a standard part of the common TCP/IP protocol on which both the Internet and many local networks are built. I...t uses two types of software — "managers" on control computers and "agents" on managed computers (in this case, on a router). The degree of security is relatively low, but SNMP can be used for simple management tasks.

Note that this list is not exhaustive — some routers have other, more specific management capabilities (such as the EEM event manager in Cisco devices).