818DRU is designed to stand up in a vertical orientation and is styled in an entirely plastic exterior. The two-tone theme TRENDnet has used looks good – the sides use a brushed aluminium finish and a plastic (metallic looking) badge sits on both sides.


At the front of the router there are a series of LED indicators which sit on a panel. This panel tells us whether various aspects are in use such as: USB, WiFi frequency (5GHz/2.4GHz), Ethernet ports, WAN and power.


Spinning 818DRU around, there are a number of useful ports. At the top there is a USB 3.0 port with an accompanying USB 2.0 port. We’re also pleased to see there is the inclusion of a WPS button to make it nice and easy to pair up other network devices. Below this there are 4x Ethernet ports, each allowing Gigabit connectivity. The yellow port is a WAN port for internet usage. Towards the botton there is a flick-switch for on/off and an AC port to work in conjunction with the supplied power pack.


Lastly – since there is no active cooling within 818DRU, TRENDnet has given the unit a large area of ventilation to expel unwanted heat.