Dong Knows Tech

Ubiquiti UniFi Ecosystem, Explained: The Powerful UniFi OS and Its Primary UniFi Network Application for All Things Networking

Mar 29, 2025

11 Min Read

Among popular networking vendors, Ubiquiti has a unique approach, UniFi, that suits all user demographics from novice to enterprise. This post provides an overview of the ecosystem and guides you through setting up and managing a UniFi-based network—including Wi-Fi—for your home or small office. If you’ve never heard of Ubiquiti …

ASUS AiMesh Overview: Years-Long Effort to Better Wi-Fi Coverage

Dong Ngo

Mar 25, 2025

5 Min Read

1,160 Comments

A 2 pack ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro Mesh system includes tow identical routers but one is labeled as the main unit

AiMesh is a free feature available in all routers since the beginning of 2018, starting with the RT-AC86U, initially as a free add-on via firmware updates. Over the years, it has proven to be the networking company’s most impactful home networking feature and an essential part of its core router …

Best SATA SSDs (Solid-State Drives): Top Legacy NAND-Based Storage Options

Dong Ngo

Mar 24, 2025

3 Min Read

25 Comments

This post includes the best SATA SSDs I’ve reviewed or used in over a decade and a half. You can get any of them, and rest assured, they will do the job much better than a hard drive of the same capacity. As SATA SSDs, they can work in any …

Wi-Fi Range Explained: Great Expectations vs. Harsh Reality of the Invisible Magic

Dong Ngo

Mar 21, 2025

4 Min Read

23 Comments

One of the most essential elements of a home router is its Wi-Fi range. Wireless signals are invisible, so how far they can actually go is often up to interpretation, and hardware vendors tend to exaggerate that greatly. The most important thing to remember about Wi-Fi is that newer or …

NETGEAR Nighthawk RS100 Review (vs. TP-Link Archer BE230): A New Level of Bare Minimum Wi-Fi 7

Dong Ngo

Mar 19, 2025

9 Min Read

4 Comments

The NETGEAR Nighthawk RS100 is a compact router

If you find NETGEAR’s Nighthawk RS200‘s $200 price tag a bit too high, the Nighthawk RS100 is a worthy alternative that costs $50 less. As the name suggests, this is the entry-level router. However, for those happy with dual-band Wi-Fi 7 who have modest bandwdith needs, it might be the …

Synology CC400W Review: A Robust Compact Security Camera at a Cost

Dong Ngo

Mar 18, 2025

7 Min Read

2 Comments

The CC400W—officially available in the US today after its initial unveiling in early 2024—is Synology’s first Wi-Fi IP security camera. It looks completely different from its previous PoE counterparts, the BC500 and TC500, which were released over two years ago. The new camera’s compact design affords more placement options. However, …

Samsung SSD 9100 PRO Review (vs. 990 EVO Plus): A Fast and Relatively Cool PCIe Gen 5×4 SSD

Dong Ngo

Mar 18, 2025

5 Min Read

2 Comments

The Samsung 9100 PRO is a standard 2280 NVMe SSD

The SSD 9100 PRO, announced on February 25, 2025, and available to purchase today, is Samsung’s third attempt at PCIe Gen 5 NVMe storage, and in a way, it’s a charm. The new drive is Samsung’s first SSD to feature the PCIe standard’s full four-lane (x4) speed grade. The previous …

HDD vs. SSD: Everything You Need To Know about Conventional Digital Storage and the General Idea of Computing

Dong Ngo

Mar 14, 2025

19 Min Read

8 Comments

You must have heard of hard drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). Some of you might have even used the term “memory” to call them both, and you’re sort of correct. But things are more complicated than that. This post will explain digital storage and how it works in a …

New Ubiquiti U7 Pro XG and U7 Pro XGS Access Points: 10Gbps and Thermal Upgardes from U7 Pro and U7 Pro Max

Dong Ngo

Mar 11, 2025

5 Min Read

21 Comments

If you’re unhappy with the U7 Pro or the U7 Pro Max due to their internal fan but can’t afford the fan-less UniFi E7, Ubiquiti has something that will change your mood. Today, the networking vendor announced the official availability of its next-gen Flagship UniFi access points, the U7 Pro XG and …

Western Digital Splits Off NAND Flash to SanDisk, Unveils a Host of External HDD-Based Storage Devices

Dong Ngo

Mar 11, 2025

6 Min Read

2 Comments

Western Digital today unveiled five new external storage devices, all based on its latest 26TB “enterprise-class Ultrastar 7200 RPM HDDs for high performance, reliability, and fast read/write speeds.” These new devices are massive in storage space, yet more significant is that they are the first following the company’s decision to …