Page 3 - Configuration and User Interface
To be honest, many people do not buy routers, but rather get them directly from their internet service providers, as those ones are carefree routers with little hassle to set up. However, this leads to a lot of options being locked down. On the other hand, those who buy routers separately often look for ones with open-source firmware support, especially for those supporting the Linux-based DD-WRT firmware. There are some who even avoid a router altogether if DD-WRT cannot be installed on it. Unfortunately, the TP-Link Archer C2300 is one of those devices. However, we will see what TP-Link has to offer for their own firmware.
To start off, connect your device to the TP-Link Archer C2300. While it is not necessary to have internet access, you will need it to ensure you have the latest firmware updated. You can then navigate to the device's web configuration interface on your computer through your browser of choice. Upon first login, you will go through a quick setup, which allows you to set initial settings. Alternatively, you could download the TP-Link Tether app from Apple App Store or Google Play. The Tether app generally provides the same basic configuration settings, but we will be stepping through the web browser option in this review.
Compared to the Archer C3150 from TP-Link, there have been some visual differences made in the interface, though the layout is mostly the same. After you finish your initial setup, you will be greeted with the basic setup page where you can access the essential settings. The first page is called Network Map, which shows you all the connected devices, wired or wireless, printers, and USB drives, as well as your internet status. The rest of the pages can be seen on the left side tabs. Under the Internet tab, this page shows the connection type. The third tab is the Wireless section, allowing users to change the SSID and password for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks in addition to enabling or disabling them altogether. The USB Sharing pages allow for basic configuration of any USB device attached, whether it is a storage device or a printer. The fifth tab allows for configuration of Parental Controls, where the administrator can modify the devices that are under parental controls. The sixth section marked Guest Network is pretty self-explanatory, allowing you to modify the guest network with some simple changes. Finally, the last section is marked TP-Link Cloud, and it allows you to access and modify various cloud devices. All in all, this is a lot of options considering these are just the basic settings, and I personally like the fact users can quickly access them from here.
However, for those with knowledge, skill, or those who just want to tinker a bit more, the Advanced settings page is there for you. I still think there could be some features added to make this truly advanced, but you will understand when I take you through this. This first Status tab reveals more detail than the basic version's main page, though these numbers are still a brief overview. Interestingly enough, it goes through other various things like the CPU load and memory usage of the router.
Under Operation Mode, users can select whether you want this router to act as a router, or as an access point to extend your current network. In the Network tab, there are multiple pages to let you configure Internet settings, MAC, LAN, Internet Protocol Television or IPTV, DHCP server, Dynamic DNS, and Static Routing.
In the Wireless Settings, users can make similar changes as we saw in the basic section, but you can also change security settings, wireless modes, channel and its width, as well as transmit power. These settings can be changed for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks on an individual basis. Unfortunately, despite this router being Wave 2 compatible, there is no option to select a 160MHz channel. Other things to change in this tab includes WPS settings and setting up a Wireless schedule to enable or disable your wireless network on a timely basis.
The Guest Network page also has similar settings as compared to the basic one, but once again there are more detailed settings like updating the SSID and security type for the guest network. It would have been nice to see some more options like time or bandwidth limits.
In the NAT Forwarding pages, users can change the Application Layer Gateway configuration, which allow for enabling and disabling of different pass-through settings as you can see above. In this section, you can also setup virtual servers, port triggering, DMZ, and UPnP. DMZ actually does refer to a demilitarized zone on the router, though this setting is not a true DMZ. This DMZ host is one on the internal network with all the UDP and TCP ports open and exposed besides the forwarded ports. This allows users to forward all ports to another firewall or NAT device.
The USB Sharing is again more advanced than the basic version, as it lets you setup a media server for file and folder sharing. However, it does lack things like iTunes Media Server. It also lets you set up a printer server.
The Parental Controls page is a bit more advanced than the basic one, as it allows you to add content blacklisting and whitelisting based on keywords. Unfortunately, I would like to see them allow for importing of lists from external sites to protect your children from the darker areas of the Internet. This being said, if you are really interested in filtering more of these settings, I would recommend other software to use in conjunction with this.
The QoS section is the same as the Bandwidth Control section in previous routers, and it allows you to limit the priority, upload, and download speeds for specific devices. While it is pretty interesting to see this kind of configuration, it is pretty basic, and more advanced users may be left wanting more.
From the Security tab, you can change the firewall settings, including setting up Stateful Packet Inspection, which is pretty standing. Other things you can enable are DoS protection, while changing access control for devices and modifying IP and MAC bindings are on other tabs.
The IPv6 tab area is pretty self-explanatory, as it provides users with the ability to enable IPv6 Internet and LAN settings. The VPN Server tab is also pretty straightforward, allowing users to setup OpenVPN and PPTP VPNs on the router. It is nice though to see the ability to easily setup these networks if you so desire.
Finally, the last page is the System Tools page, which is quite comprehensive. This area allows you to setup system settings like time settings and administrator passwords. It provides you with the ability to change the LED Control to turn off all the LEDs on a timely basis, such as in the night. It also provides diagnostic tools through ping, trace routes, system logs, traffic statistics, and port mirroring. You can also backup, restore, and reset all of your settings in this area. One of the most important settings will be the Firmware Upgrade page, as more recent firmware have enabled other features, such as TP-Link's HomeCare, Time Machine, Speedtest, and IFTTT support.
Overall, the firmware is decent in the options and configuration choices available to users, though I will say it is still lacking when put up against options like DD-WRT. Those who are looking for more customization and features may be left waiting for DD-WRT support for the TP-Link Archer C2300. This being said, it definitely still offers a lot of options compared to the basic user's router provided by the ISP, giving control to the hands of the user. The user interface is bright and intuitive to move around, with the sections being logically laid out for quick access, making it easier to navigate for the beginner to enthusiast user.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Configuration and User Interface
4. Performance Tests
5. Conclusion
