Billion BiPAC 7800NL review: Billion BiPAC 7800NL

While at first glance the 7800NL looks like a cut-down version of the 7800N (and indeed, nearly identical to the 5200N RC), there is one feature on the list that's not been in Billion routers before — IPv6 support. IPv6 is definitely still in the trialling stages, and so isn't on many people's feature lists that a router must have — but it's interesting that it's finally tipping up after years of scaremongering about IP addresses online running out.

8.0

Billion BiPAC 7800NL

The Good

IPv6 support. Good short- to mid-range wireless performance. Good features for the price.

The Bad

Long range performance could be better. Web UI could scare off networking newbies.

The Bottom Line

The 7800NL is a great bargain modem/router. If you don't care about gigabit Ethernet and can't justify the dollars to upgrade to the higher level 7800N, or even if you just want to mess with IPv6, the 7800NL could be for you.

It also supports WDS and RADIUS authentication, making it an interesting hybrid that might make particular people perk up their ears.

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Specs at a glance

Connections

ADSL line, four 100Mb Ethernet ports, reset and WPS button, power jack, power button. (Credit: Craig Simms/CBS Interactive)

UI and features

Although definitely not for the faint of heart, Billion's user interface (UI) is clean and easy to navigate. There's no attempt to help the user at all in terms of explaining what everything does — even the Quick Start menu option, which only gets people online and the wireless on in the most basic of forms, makes no effort to explain anything beyond the feature name and the field or drop down for user interaction.

It's likely to be complete nonsense to those who don't understand networking, but those who do will appreciate the 7800NL's ease of use. (Screenshot by CBS Interactive)

Apart from IPv6 and RADIUS support, standout features include Wake On Lan capability, TR-069 management, guest internet access over Wi-Fi, time of day restrictions, a URL filter and interface grouping.

Performance

After analysing the spectrum with InSSIDer, an empty channel of either 1, 6 or 11 is chosen for 2.4GHz wireless testing. The router is restricted to the 20MHz band and will only allow 802.11n clients. If possible, the MCS is set to 15.

We use iperf to determine throughput, running eight streams, with a TCP window size of 1MB, and an interval of one second. The test is run for five minutes in three different locations, on two separate occasions. The locations are in the same room as the router, one floor down around spiral stairs and with concrete walls and floors, and two floors down under the same conditions.

The wireless throughput is tested using three chipsets, the Atheros AR5008X, Ralink RT2870 and Intel 5100AGN, then all results are averaged.

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

The 7800NL is nipping at the heels of the big brother 7800N here, at least until we get to location three — then the combination of obstructions and distance seem to undo it.

ADSL performance is simply measured by the sync speed on an Internode ADSL2+ connection to the St Leonards exchange, on Internode's very high speed profile. If the connection remains stable over a period of time, the sync speed is recorded.

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Power consumption

We measured power consumption using a Jaycar mains digital power meter. It's important to note here that due to limitations of the meter, measurements are limited to values 1W and greater, and are reported in 1W increments.

The wireless radio was turned on, and an iperf test begun for measurement, using one wireless client and one wired.

Juice Box
Transmitting	7W
Idle	7W

Despite our best efforts, the 7800NL was content to draw the same amount of power while transmitting as idle.

Warranty

A 24-month warranty is offered on all Billion products, and is covered by PCRange, Billion's distributor in Australia.

Conclusion

The 7800NL is a great bargain modem/router. If you don't care about gigabit Ethernet and can't justify the dollars to upgrade to the higher level 7800N, or even if you just want to mess with IPv6, the 7800NL could be for you.