Taking the RT-N13U out of the box, this wireless router really does look the part. It’s bright white finish will look great on the desk. It stands upright which is the opposite of how most routers would usually sit. Unfortunately there isn’t a way of lying this router flat, but this shouldn’t be a problem. Observing the front we have various lights. These are (from top to bottom):
- 4 LAN indicators - if a computer is plugged into port 1, this will light up blue
- Internet indicator - if you have your internet cable plugged in at the back this will light up blue
- Wireless indicator – this will light up blue if a wireless connection is present
- Power indicator – this will light up blue if there is power to the unit
- WPS – this will launch the wireless protection setup.
Focussing our attention on the rear of the router is (from top to bottom):
- USB 2.0 connector – this is for plugging in printer or USB dongle/HDD for FTP storage
- 4 LAN ports – allowing you to connect up to 4 workstations
- 1 Internet (Ethernet) port – this is for obtaining your internet connection (this router is not internet ready)
- Power socket – here the power adaptor is plugged into
On the underside of the RT-N13U are some other buttons. There is a hard reset button that will restore your router to factory defaults if you happen to lock yourself out of the admin panel or simply want to return all settings to default status. There is also another button that allows you to switch into 3 different operation modes – Router, Repeater and AP (Access Point). There is also some information such as the default username and password and SSID for this router should you not realise what these are. As a good practise you should always change the username and password prior to logging in to prevent unauthorised access and misuse.
The unit looks and feels sturdy. All of the buttons, and features from the outside are easy to use and see. In the next section we will see how easy this router is to configure and get going. Looking at the assortment of features and seeing how easy they are to get along with.
- 4 LAN indicators - if a computer is plugged into port 1, this will light up blue
- Internet indicator - if you have your internet cable plugged in at the back this will light up blue
- Wireless indicator – this will light up blue if a wireless connection is present
- Power indicator – this will light up blue if there is power to the unit
- WPS – this will launch the wireless protection setup.
Focussing our attention on the rear of the router is (from top to bottom):
- USB 2.0 connector – this is for plugging in printer or USB dongle/HDD for FTP storage
- 4 LAN ports – allowing you to connect up to 4 workstations
- 1 Internet (Ethernet) port – this is for obtaining your internet connection (this router is not internet ready)
- Power socket – here the power adaptor is plugged into
On the underside of the RT-N13U are some other buttons. There is a hard reset button that will restore your router to factory defaults if you happen to lock yourself out of the admin panel or simply want to return all settings to default status. There is also another button that allows you to switch into 3 different operation modes – Router, Repeater and AP (Access Point). There is also some information such as the default username and password and SSID for this router should you not realise what these are. As a good practise you should always change the username and password prior to logging in to prevent unauthorised access and misuse.
The unit looks and feels sturdy. All of the buttons, and features from the outside are easy to use and see. In the next section we will see how easy this router is to configure and get going. Looking at the assortment of features and seeing how easy they are to get along with.
