Performance
Benchmarking the bandwidth of the BR-724 at different variants of connection is going to be interesting. In the beginning of the review we noted that the two WAN ports could be used to increase the overall bandwidth of the external connection. On the other hand, the router features load balancing – we’ll check it out, too.
We used the following for our tests:
- Three Category 5e Ethernet cables
- Intel Centrino notebook
- Two desktop PCs with Gigabit Ethernet controllers
- ASUS WL-500W router
- IXChariot software
The first test is about the router’s maximum bandwidth, i.e. the bandwidth of its LAN section. You can’t expect surprises from this test as most routers deliver similar results in it.
LAN-LAN:
The next test is going to be more interesting as it concerns the WAN ports. First, we will measure the bandwidth of each of the router’s WAN ports in two directions (into the LAN/from the LAN). We use the default settings and disable Load Balancing.
LAN-WAN1:
LAN-WAN2:
WAN1-LAN:
WAN2-LAN:
The results are disappointing. The BR-724 is one of the slowest modern SOHO routers. Its processor must be the reason for that. Not even the processor as such but the overall implementation of the functional subunits found in the ADM5120 chip. The use of all-in-one chips is not good for the parameters of devices they are installed in. If Edimax didn’t save on external network controllers, the router might have better results.
