ASUS Announces BRT-AC828 SMB Router with M.2 NAS Function

ASUS is ready with a new router and it is quite a beast with all its features. The new router is called the BRT-AC828 and it is a powerful AC2600-class Wi-Fi router designed for SMBs with features such as dual-wAN resilience and built-in M.2 SSD NAS.

The ASUS BRT-AC828 allows for fast and stable connections to multiple devices with a superb coverage, even in complex office layouts. That is thanks to the powerful four-transmit, four-receive (4×4) MIMO design with four external antennas and fine-tuned power output. It supports up to 250 simultaneous Wi-Fi connections, allowing even larger businesses to connect all clients to it and it should handle that great thanks to the MU-MIMO feature (Multiple User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output). The ASUS AiRadar technology combines beamforming with the four external antennas to ensure reliable and powerful Wi-Fi with a combined speed of up to 2534Mbps.

The dual WAN ports in the BRT-AC828 allows businesses to aggregate their connections for up to 2Gbps or use the two ports as automatic failover in case one of them fails to connect to the internet. There is also the option of connecting a 4G LTE dongle to the USB 3.0 port for use as a primary or secondary WAN, adding even more versatility. It also features eight Gigabit Ethernet ports which you can aggregate for up to 4Gbps connections.

The operating system is called ASUSWRT and as the name suggests, it’s based on the power WRT router software. You can easily manage all the company’s devices using Device Grouping and the RADIUS server. You can also use it to set up Wi-Fi welcome pages for your customers using the Captive Portal feature.

The router also incorporates the powerful ASUS AiProtection feature with Trend Micro technology, which uses real-time network monitoring to detect malware, viruses, and other intrusions before it reaches the network devices. The integrated IPsec virtual private network (VPN) with its hardware encryption engine is a secure and convenient way for employees to access the company’s internal network from home or from another remote location. Virtual LAN (VLAN) is also supported and it enables IT managers to manage the networks for different departments within a company, making for a more secure and seamless working environment.

Last but certainly not least, the ASUS BRT-AC828 also features a built-in M.2 storage slot that accepts M.2 AHCI modules. This way, you can configure your router to be a powerful mini-NAS for backup and file storage. This will certainly work far more efficient than USB-connected storage.

ASUS BRT-AC828 will be available soon in the UK at leading retailers, but no word on pricing at this time.