The Western Digital My Net N900 Central is a dual-band wireless 11n router with an internal hard disk. Here's our WD My Net N900 Central video review.
At first glance, the Western Digital My Net N900 wireless router isn't especially striking. On the front of its plain black enclosure is a series of functional status lights; on the rear is a discrete fan for cooling. Read more Wi-Fi and networking reviews.
There are four gigabit ethernet ports on the router, a single WAN for hook-up to a separate modem, plus USB 2.0 for connecting a printer or external hard disk. Given the Western Digital's premium price, we were hoping for USB 3.0, too.
The N900 is built for the 802.11n standard and incorporates a 3x3:3 Mimo antenna array. The multiple antennae allow three data streams to enhance range and throughput for file transfers and HD video.
The N900 Central is a dual-band router, offering 2.4 Gigahertz for range and widespread compatibility, and the media-friendly, if short-range, 5 gigahertz band for higher throughput. Both are said to operate up to 450 megabits per second; while neither will approach that notional figure, 5 gigahertz is typically faster at short range.
A standout feature is the router's built-in hard drive, either one or two terabytes in capacity. The N900 Central can be used as a NAS for storing media across the network.
Western Digital also offers a service called WD2Go, which allows you to access your router's internal disk from any PC with a web connection. If your network includes Macs you can also enable the AFP server, which allows the N900 to be used as an iTunes server and for Time Machine backups.
Despite its extensive feature list, setting up this router is extremely simple, and in tests the N900 produced reasonable performance figures for this type of product.
The Western Digital My Net N900 Central offers plenty of features and decent 802.11n performance. If you need an all-in-one router with storage now, the My Net 900 Central is a fast, solid, if pricey option, at £299 for the 1TB version and £349 for 2TB. But remember that faster 802.11ac models are already hitting the market. We award four stars.
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