Archive for EnGenius

EnGenius Announces The ENH500-AX Outdoor Wireless Point To Point Client Bridge

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 7, 2023 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies Inc., a leading provider of networking solutions for any sized businesses, today announced the launch of the ENH500-AX, a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 5GHz 2×2 outdoor wireless point to point client bridge. 

This innovative new product takes advantage of the latest Wi-Fi technology to deliver high-density transmissions between buildings and large outdoor properties without needing the complexity or costs of fiber cables. The EnGenius Wi-Fi 6 outdoor bridge boasts Wi-Fi 6 capabilities and features that significantly improve throughput, efficiency, and accommodates 8k ultra-HD video and heavy multi-application traffic with extended bandwidth over greater distances. 

The ENH500-AX “invisible wire” bridge comes with Qualcomm® Quad-Core ARM Cortex A53s @ 2.0GHz CPU and is a game-changer for businesses looking to connect multiple buildings or extend their networks to outdoor spaces without the expense of running fiber cables. Designed for peak performance in harsh climates, EnGenius Fit Wi-Fi 6 outdoor access points feature IP55-rated waterproof and dustproof enclosures ensuring they can withstand harsh outdoor environments.

The ENH500-AX bridge offers high 26 dBm output power and utilizes beamforming technology to optimize client antenna signal, reception, and reliability, while it can achieve longer ranges when paired with another Wi-Fi 6 bridge in a point-point/multi-point deployment. It comes equipped with high-gain 16 dBi directional antennas that emit a narrow signal beam to limit interference and ensure stable connectivity, high bandwidth, and speeds of up to 1200Mbps for up to 5 miles.  

Key Features and Benefits: 

  • Wi-Fi 6 technology for high-performance and efficient Wi-Fi in outdoor environments  
  • Beamforming optimizes antenna signal, reception, and reliability for clients 
  • 2×2 directional antennas to support up to 1,200 Mbps in 5 GHz 
  • High transmit power extends Wi-Fi to yard or building-to-building 
  • High gain integrated directional antenna extends wireless networks up to 5 miles point-to-point
  • IP55-rated weatherproof & dustproof housing 
  • Simple, intuitive interface via EnWiFi app for local AP configuring & monitoring 
  • Flexible operation modes: access point, WDS access point, WDS station 
  • Remotely & centrally manage via EnGenius Private Cloud software 
  • Gigabit Ethernet PoE port supports flexible power options

The ENH500-AX is now shipping and available to order.

EnGenius Announces ECW270 Outdoor Access Point

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 19, 2023 by itnerd

EnGenius expands its enterprise Cloud solution with the rugged ECW270, a top-of-the-line outdoor access point (AP). With an IP68 rating, one of the highest outdoor ratings available, it protects from extreme dust, torrential rain, and even immersion under high pressure. 

This industrial-grade Cloud Managed AP boasts Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology and a 4×4 antenna designed for superior wireless communication even in harsh outdoor environments. It can provide network coverage to many simultaneous client connections, which is perfect for business parks, apartment complexes, senior living, airports, school campuses, and outdoor venues.  

The ECW270’s high-powered radios provide the ability to mesh the access point at greater distances and blanket larger areas with Wi-Fi minimizing expensive cable runs. IT professionals can use the existing 2.4 GHz (5 dBi) and 5 GHz (7 dBi) detachable antennas to flood an area with Wi-Fi or swap out the antennas for more demanding environments with specific requirements. 

The ECW270 AP can use its primary Ethernet port, which supports 2.5 GigE PoE++, to easily be mounted and attached to light poles, sides of buildings, and exposed ceilings or racks in warehouses up to 300 ft away from the power source. The AP also provides a secondary 1 GigE PoE+ PSE port to pass internet data and power to a surveillance camera or other power-sourcing device.

Key Features and Benefits:

  • High-rated, IP68-rated waterproof & dustproof housing withstands extreme environments 
  • Detachable four (4) 7 dBi 5 GHz & four (4) 5 dBi 2.4 GHz, Omni 360° N-type antennas 
  • Supports up to 2,400 Mbps in 5-GHz band & 1,200 Mbps in 2.4-GHz band 
  • Dual-band 802.11ax with scanning radio for an improved wireless experience
  • 2.5 GigE PoE++ compatible port for easy placement in outdoor spaces 
  • 1 GigE port with PSE (802.3af/at) to power up IP cameras or other compliant devices 
  • High-powered radios to increase meshing distances on either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz 
  • Built-in surge and ESD (electro-static discharge) protection 
  • Wide outdoor operation ranges from -4°F ~ +149°F (-20°C ~ +65°C)

The ECW270 is managed on the EnGenius Cloud, and a single or an unlimited number of these ruggedized APs can be easily installed, configured, and monitored at scale. APs can be quickly scanned, registered, pre- & auto-configured, and remotely monitored and troubleshot. The cloud solution allows IT professionals to dive into AP specifics like device status, throughput and connectivity performance, wireless statistics, and connected wireless device status.

The ECW270 AP is now shipping and EnGenius is offering it at an unmatched value of $999 MSRP through its authorized partner channel. For more information, visit https://www.engeniustech.com/engenius-products/ecw270-wi-fi-6-4×4-outdoor-access-point/

EnGenius ESG510 Security Gateway Now Shipping

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 13, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies has begun shipping its first-ever security gateway product line—that crucial first line of defense for business networks—bringing unparalleled simplicity, faster speed, enterprise features, enhanced security, and greater cloud management from anywhere.  

As part of the EnGenius Cloud access points and switches, the EnGenius ESG510 security gateway (router) is easy to set up and can be managed anywhere with the EnGenius Cloud user interface or Cloud To-Go mobile app. The security gateway features two WAN and two LAN ports capable of up to 2.5G speeds (more than double the speed of most gateways in the market today) which helps provide high performance and superior uplink and downlink transmissions, including maximum firewall throughput up to 2.35Gbps. Apart from its ease of use and high performance, the gateway also includes enterprise-level security features, including;  

  • Built-in load balancing and safeguards with dual-WAN and cellular failover 
  • Stateful firewall with high-efficiency filtering and inspection to enhance security 
  • High-speed and secure site-to-site VPN and client VPN 
  • Quick self-healing VPN and VLAN setup for faster and easier deployments 
  • Touchless system maintenance and automatic updates 
  • Multi-mode passthrough and routing options

The EnGenius security gateway series is now shipping and will deliver an effortless setup, intelligent design, and plenty of horsepower to handle heavy throughput. Customers will also receive automatic upgrades when fixes and new features become available. Scan. Plug in. Done. 

If you are interested in learning more, please visit  https://www.engeniustech.com/security-gateway.html.

Review: EnGenius ECW336 WiFi 6E Access Point 

Posted in Products with tags on December 13, 2022 by itnerd

Full disclosure: I was supposed to have this tested and reviewed about two weeks ago. But things beyond my control got in the way of that. Having said that, when I did get around to testing the EnGenius ECW333 WiFi 6E Access Point, I walked away impressed by what it could do. Let’s take a look at the access point:

It looks like every other EnGenius WiFi access point from the top with LED lights to indicate the stars at the top.

Underneath is a 12V DC connection for power, 5Gbps PoE LAN connection, and a reset hole. The 5Gbps LAN port is interesting as there’s not a whole lot of 5Gbps PoE switches out there. So this is clearly here for future proofing.

I am not sure if I simply never noticed this in previous access points from EnGenius that I’ve reviewed, or if this is new. But you get a Kensington lock slot as part of the deal.

The whole point of this access point is the 6Ghz band which is less crowded. Which as a result gives you more speed for your WiFi devices that can leverage this speed. But you get backwards compatibility as well. EnGenius claims that you get these speeds:

  • 2.4GHz: 1148Mbps
  • 5GHz: 2400Mbps
  • 6GHz: 4800 Mbps

You can set this access point up and manage it via the EnGenius cloud, which I have to say is excellent as I can set it up for a client and teach them in a few minutes how to manage their network if they have EnGenius gear from end to end. Or I can manage it for them from anywhere as their cloud supports apps for your smart phone. If cloud management isn’t for you, doing it via a web browser works too. In either case, it’s trivially easy as anyone reading this will have this access point up and running in under 30 minutes. Finally for what it’s worth, if you want to give the public access to this without having to constantly hand out the WiFi password, it supports Facebook WiFi.

What I was really interested in was the speed. So I decided to test all three bands to see what sort of performance that I would get. So after assembling some devices that I could use to test each band, here’s my results:

  • 2.4GHz Average at 20 feet line of sight: Downstream 270Mbps, Upstream 194Mbps
  • 5GHz Average at 20 feet line of sight: Downstream 150Mbps, Upstream 44Mbps
  • 6GHz Average at 20 feet line of sight: Downstream 665Mbps, Upstream 871Mbps

Now I am testing this in an insanely noisy environment where there are literally dozens of access points competing with each other. But having said that, these numbers are pretty impressive. Especially the 6Ghz numbers. If you plan out a deployment with a number these access points set up to do overlapping coverage of an office or even a large home, and it doesn’t have the number of access points that I have to deal with, I can easily see you getting much better numbers than what I have posted here. As far as I am concerned, this is a win.

The EnGenius ECW336 Access point is currently available at Amazon US for $895.00. If you want to set up a wireless network that is easy to roll out and has fast speed, and is future proof, this access point is very much looking at.

EnGenius launches a new line of small business-oriented access points and switches called EnGenius Fit

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 2, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies Inc., a multinational networking company, known for delivering future-proof networking solutions for businesses of all sizes, announced the release of a new Wi-Fi solution designed specifically for small businesses called EnGenius Fit. 

With this launch, the global network equipment manufacturer is bringing hassle-free, enterprise-grade quality products to small and medium-sized businesses. With fast deployment and simplified cloud-based management, small business owners without IT staff will have more time to run their business instead of putting out fires. Small business owners work hard to provide the best service to customers while growing their business. The last thing they need is sub-standard Wi-Fi. Yet many business owners struggle constantly with dropped connections, slow speeds, and data breaches—all the while wondering if there’s a solution built just for them. 

Now there is.

EnGenius Fit is unlike any solution that has appeared on the Wi-Fi networking landscape. It’s the smartest, most affordable Wi-Fi solution yet for small businesses. Simple and secure, this new family of access points and switches is supported by new, subscription-free EnGenius Fit cloud-based management options built to thoroughly streamline deployment while providing enterprise-grade security and reliability. 

Anyone can do it. There is no complexity at all—just the visibility, control, and insights that allow customers to make solid business decisions confidently. EnGenius Fit is easy and fast as all network components can be managed effortlessly through a mobile app or web interface no matter the level of network knowledge.

For slightly larger companies with an IT staff, EnGenius offers more management options: a local portal ideal for examining deep-level analytics on any device, or a plug-n-play network controller with pre-installed network management software, which allows even junior IT pros to set up a cloud-based or on-premises network management infrastructure. Small business owners will finally have all the tools they need to run an affordable, reliable, secure network. It all comes subscription-free, a feature that EnGenius expects dental offices, law firms, and other small businesses will appreciate. 

The interface of the cloud component of EnGenius Fit is flexible and user-friendly, while providing comprehensive, information-rich business insights. Business owners can select any combination of two (2) access points and one (1) switch to complete a budget-conscious Fit solution:

L2 PoE Switches

EWS2910P-FIT

EWS7928P-FIT

EWS7928P-FIT

EWS7928FP-FIT

EWS7952P-FITEWS7952FP-FIT

Indoor Access Points

EWS357-FIT

EWS377-FIT

Outdoor Access Point

EWS850-FIT

Every time small business owners invest in an upgrade, they expect greater efficiency, more reliability, and all the increased revenues that are bound to pour in from a smoothly functioning network. EnGenius Fit delivers. 

EnGenius Launches ECS5512F 12-Port 10G Fiber SFP+ half-Rack Aggregate Switch

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 25, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies Inc., a multinational networking company, known for delivering future-proof networking solutions for businesses of all sizes, is proud to announce the release of its expandable, cloud-managed ECS5512F 12-port 10G fiber SFP+ half-rack aggregate switch.

This aggregate fiber switch is the newest addition to the EnGenius unified cloud platform. The switch is a powerful tool for boosting traffic flow and network performance in large-footprint businesses like multi-dwelling units, hotels, resorts, and university campuses—delivering the fastest speeds available.

Administrators have the advantage of using the EnGenius Cloud for fast configuration, 24/7 monitoring, and remote tech-savvy troubleshooting tools of the fiber switch from everywhere. Its compact design can help administrators easily scale from 12 to 24 SFP+ ports on a single rack as network demands increase. With its lightning-fast speeds and super long-distance capabilities, this aggregate switch is the perfect solution for large organizations that need to keep their network running at peak performance. 

The EnGenius fiber aggregate switch will come in at a competitive price of $699 MSRP. 

EnGenius Invites You To An Event In New Jersey

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 6, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius, a California-based worldwide manufacturer of future-proof enterprise networking solutions, will be organizing an event for managed service providers, value-added resellers and system integrators interested in learning more about EnGenius and the future of networking. The event will be taking place in New Jersey.  

EnGenius will be showing off its recently launched new Security Gateway, a significant milestone in offering an EnGenius end-to-end cloud management solution. The summit will deliver an in-depth look at the new Security Gateway and a live demo by the team that made it all happen.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to meet top EnGenius executives flying from Taiwan specifically to attend the event – Roger Liu, VP of Branding and Software Engineering, creator and head engineer of EnGenius Cloud, and Antony Lai, VP of Strategic Planning.

Attendees will then have time to network with the EnGenius team, take away some EnGenius gear, enjoy high-tech golf and delicious food.

DATE – Wednesday, October 19th, 2022

TIME – 3:00PM to 10:00PM

LOCATION – TopGolf Edisson, 1013 U.S. Route 1, Edison, NJ

PARKING – FREE

You can submit a request to attend the EnGenius Cloud Summit here

EnGenius Technologies Announces Their Cloud Security Gateway

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 13, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies positions its Cloud Security Gateway as one of the best price-performance solutions on the market at $599 MSRP. The Security Gateway will round out their license-free cloud solution and further propel them into disrupting the competition. 

EnGenius managed to do all this without cutting corners. The gateway has two WAN and two LAN ports with up to 2.5Gbps speeds—more than double the speed of most gateways. Its high-speed Ethernet connections and high inline 2.5Gbps architecture provide superior uplink and downlink transmissions without the bottlenecks. The gateway also offers load balancing, redundant WAN link, and even cellular failover. 

The stateful firewall with a maximum throughput up to 2.35Gbps integrates corporate security policies and real-time filtering of malicious internet traffic.

EnGenius simplifies the process for site-to-site and client VPN that can be activated in a few clicks—allowing secure, private connections for communication and remote work. 

Find out about this simple, secure, and efficient Cloud Security Gateway.

Review: EnGenius ECW220S Wireless Access Point

Posted in Products with tags on August 19, 2022 by itnerd

I get a fair amount of questions about how to cover a large area with WiFi. The short answer is that if you’re a home user, a mesh WiFi system is the answer. But for businesses, that’s not the way to go as businesses go for access points as you can run either Ethernet or Power Over Ethernet (POE) to the locations that need WiFi and you install the access point in that location. So if you’re the latter, we’re going to take a look at one of these access points today. And that’s the EnGenius ECW220S:

This access point is pretty low key and doesn’t occupy a lot of space. It may even go unnoticed by most people. The only thing that you see on the outside are a set of LEDs along the top.The first is power, while the second indicates whether you’re connected to your router. The third and fourth lights indicate the status of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands respectively.

Underneath is a recessed area where there is your power connection if you’re not using POE (Please note that the power adapter is not included), and a gigabit Ethernet jack that supports POE, both on the left. And on the right is a hole to reset the access point via a paperclip. I should also note that all the brackets and screws that you need to mount this are in the box.

Setup in typical EnGenius fashion is simple. Download and install the EnGenius smartphone app available in Android and iOS versions, scan a barcode on the back of the housing and spend a few minutes getting settings that work for you configured. You might also want to check for a firmware update to make sure that you’re good to go.

The best way to test this is to use POE. So using this EnGenius POE switch, I set it up and did some performance and range testing. I should note that besides getting the power adapter from EnGenius, you can also use a POE adapter like this one that EnGenius sent me to power the access point.

The access point supports the following speeds:

  • 5Ghz: 1,200Mbps
  • 2Ghz: 574Mbps 

And it support up to WiFi6 as well. Plus it supports 2×2 Mu-MiMo. Which means that if you have a lot of devices, you should not notice any slowdowns. In my testing using WiFi 6 doing file copies, I registered an average of 110MB/sec at close range. When I move to the other end of my condo which I measured to be about 10 meters, the speed dropped to 85MB/sec. These are all respectable speeds and won’t cause complaints from anyone.

Now this access points does have a few extra party tricks up its sleeve:

  • Wireless intrusion detection system (WIDS) for threat detection
  • Wireless intrusion protection system (WIPS) for attack remediation

Those two items mean that you won’t get pwned by someone who’s trying to break into your network via WiFi.

  • Zero-wait DFS to avoid client disruption when radar is detected on DFS channels
  • Dedicated scanning radios for 24/7 wireless AP security monitoring
  • RF spectrum analysis for identifying clean channels and ensuring all SSIDs are legitimate
  • Bluetooth 5 low energy for BLE device detection and location-based extended advertising

Those three items will help you to have the best WiFi performance possible and avoid having someone spoof your WiFi to pwn you. The interesting thing about this is that using the scanning feature, I was able to find a total of 33 access points that are around me which is six more than I was previously aware of. And that included what appears to be a smart TV that seems to be advertising itself as a WiFi access point for reasons that I don’t quite understand.

All of this is under the EnGenius suite called AirGuard. All this is free. Though if you want the most security features, you’ll need to buy a “Pro” license (for example, the Network Activities under the diagnostics tool will remain available only for a minute at a time on the basic license). That’s my only negative with this access point as having this sort of security and performance feature set available to you would have made this an unbeatable deal. Though I would argue that at $489 US or $540 Canadian which is what I found it going for on Amazon, it’s still a good deal for those who need an access point or three or five with good performance and security. If that’s you, this access point should be on your list to check out.

EnGenius Plans To Deliver More Simplicity And Security To Business Networks With Its First-Ever Cloud Security Gateway

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 7, 2022 by itnerd

EnGenius, a leading global manufacturer of networking and voice communications for more than 20 years, will soon release its first brand new security gateway—that crucial first line of defense—bringing faster speed, enhanced security, and greater cloud management any place at any time, all without the complex setup process that plagues other vendor systems.

EnGenius will round out its cloud solution with the new gateway, giving customers the ability to set up quickly and manage their entire network from absolutely anywhere using a central cloud interface or mobile app. The end-to-end solution will also offer core functionalities through a cloud-based network security system that allows customers greater visibility across its line of access points, gigabit PoE switches, and soon a fully operative security gateway.

The EnGenius cloud-managed security gateway, combined with an already powerful cloud management solution, will allow IT professionals to do so much more:

  • Simple setup, control, and monitoring
  • Centralized device visibility and management from anywhere
  • Flexible multi-mode functions to suit different customer needs
  • High-flow rate filtering and inspection services to enhance security
  • Built-in failover, balancing, and safeguards 
  • Touchless system maintenance and updates

It will have plenty of horsepower to handle heavy throughput requirements and will be insanely easy to set up.

Set up. Scan. Plug in. Done.

More details will be revealed later this year.