D-Link'ing those pesky web ads
Written: Dec 09 '04
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Pros: User friendly, plenty of advanced features (especially URL blocking!), compact unit, low cost.
Cons: No printed manual, manufacturer's web site is problematic.
The Bottom Line: Please see review's conclusion. I recommend the product itself without hesitation.
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| towwang's Full Review: D-Link Express EtherNetwork DI-604 Router |
Covered in this review: installation, features, usability issues, how to use NetMeeting, and more about the D-Link DI-604 router.
[Introduction]
The D-Link DI-604 is an InterNet Protocol router with an integrated 100 Mb/s 4-port EtherNet switch. It is a very compact box measuring 6*4*2 inches approximately, targetted for home users and (very) small businesses. It is compatible with almost any broadband modem that has an EtherNet interface: DOCSIS (cable modem), DSL, etc.
[Package contents]
The retail box includes:
1) DI-604 router
2) Power adapter
3) 6 foot EtherNet cable
4) Software CD
5) Quick installation guide
I commend D-Link for the compact design of their products. Not only is the router minuscule and unobtrusive, the power adapter has a very narrow body too. We have all been dismayed with fat AC/DC adapters obstructing 2 or 3 electrical outlets on the wall or a power strip, forcing us to buy additional strips. Not so with this product; the slim power adapter uses one electrical outlet, and blocks no other.
The only downside of this compact design is that the router only provides a "link status" LED per EtherNet port, which blinks when traffic goes through the port. There is no indication of whether the link is at 100 Mb/s, or scaled down to 10 Mb/s should an EtherNet card require it.
[Installation]
Physical setup is quite simple: connect all EtherNet cables going from the router to your broadband modem and to your PCs, connect and plug in the power adapter, wait a few seconds for the router to initialize itself, and that's it; the router is now ready to be configured via its HTTP interface.
The HTTP interface simply means that the router acts like a web site when you try to configure it. You launch the web browser on your PC, and "surf" the web pages returned by the router; you configure the router by clicking check boxes and radio boxes and entering some text information in those web pages. There are no physical switches or buttons located on the router itself.
Initially, the router's HTTP interface responds at the address 192.168.0.1. Remember that the PC being used to configure the router must have been set to obtain its IP address via DHCP (or a manual address in an appropriate subnet); otherwise you won't reach the router's HTTP interface.
To login, by default the user id. is "admin" and password is blank. D-Link recommends that you use the setup "Wizard" to let the HTTP interface guide you step by step in configuring the router to connect to your broadband modem. You will get a chance to change the administrative password for this router, and set the clock time in your router (more on this later).
The following is probably the most important configuration step: choosing the "WAN connection type", i.e. how the router will communicate with your broadband modem. Most home users will choose "Dynamic IP address" (DHCP protocol) for DOCSIS cable modems, and PPPoE (Point-to-point protocol over EtherNet) for DSL. Cloning a MAC address and entering a static IP address are optional steps that come next; they are explained in the installation guide, but not applicable to most home users so I will not cover them.
For DSL users, the next step is to enter login information for PPPoE. Be sure to check whether your login id. is just a simple id. such as "JoeSmith", or a full e-mail address such as "JoeSmith@SomeBroadbandISP.com"; this login id. is the same as what you entered into your PPPoE client software (the program that you launch to log on to your DSL service). Your password should remain the same. Note: once the router is configured to use PPPoE, your PCs should no longer need to run a PPPoE client before accessing the InterNet.
(For DOCSIS users, the above step will not appear.)
Finally, you will click the "Restart" button, and the router will reboot. Yes, the router is like a little computer; it runs a very simple operating system, a web server program for its HTTP interface, and for the most part its only job is to route connections from multiple PCs through one broadband connection. Hence the name, router.
Once rebooted, you should still use your PC's web browser to check its "Status" page. If it shows that the router obtained an IP address, gateway and DNS address, then you are all set. If not, something is wrong with the connection or configuration, and you will need to troubleshoot, unfortunately.
After successful configuration, I advise users of this product to adjust the following settings, which may differ from the defaults:
1) Block ping requests from WAN: enabled
2) Gaming mode: disabled unless you play network games
3) Remote management: disabled
[Features]
This router has all the now-common features such as a built-in firewall (to ward off viruses, worms and hackers), "demilitarized zone" to let one PC access the InterNet without the firewall blocking connections, DHCP server for up to 254 clients, IP address and/or port filtering, port forwarding, and remote management. I will only comment on a few features that stand out:
1) Configuration wizard, covered in installation section above. Makes the setup process easier with a step-by-step procedure, ensuring that users will not overlook common settings required for each major type of broadband connection. Expert users can ignore the wizard and go directly into each configuration page to access all advanced settings.
2) Static DHCP address. DHCP server can be configured to issue the same IP address whenever a particular MAC address requests it. Very useful for portable computers that need to expose certain IP ports when moving across different LANs.
3) Port triggering and forwarding. Basically a more dynamic form of port forwarding: a PC in the LAN side runs an application requiring multiple IP connections; this PC starts connecting to a remote host via one pre-defined port; the router detects this, and forwards connection requests from the remote host to the LAN PC, instead of blocking them. Furthermore, you specify which ports requested by the remote host will be forwarded; connections to irrelevant ports will still be blocked for added security.
4) IP and port filtering, with an optional time schedule. Paranoid parents and mean bosses will love this. Worried that your child is still playing online games after bed time? Don't want your employees surfing the web except during lunch break? You get to specify which PCs can access the InterNet, and between what and what hours.
5) URL and domain blocking. I absolutely love this feature. Have you been annoyed that when you go to your favorite e-mail or news web site, the banner ads and pop-ups of pictures and videos load faster than the content you are interested in? Problem solved: block those web sites that do nothing but serve you ads, and your other web sites will load faster. Where you used to see an annoying (and perhaps even offensive) image, the router magically replaces it with a short message saying "401 Web site blocked by administrator". Best of all, you configure this in one router, you block those ads for all your home PCs. D-Link included this feature for free, while other manufacturers ask you to pay for it!
6) Gaming mode, an obscure feature with an even more dubious explanation from D-Link, claiming that it enhances network gaming compatibility for X-Box, Playstation 2 and PCs. I have no idea how it works, I have no time to figure it out.
[Usability issues]
I have the following complaints about this product:
1) It does not include a printed-manual. The quick installation guide is barely enough to get you going, but you have to look inside the software CD for a more detailed manual in PDF format, which in turn requires installation of Adobe "Acrobat Reader" for viewing, purchase and installation of a printer and its drivers to get a hard copy. This is not acceptable for somebody setting up a brand new PC that might not be running Windows.
2) The D-Link web site, www.dlink.com, requires "InterNet Explorer" 5.5 or "Mozilla" 1.4.x web browsers to access their support (FAQ) pages. This is even less tolerable. Anybody using Windows 4.x (95, 98) and Windows NT 5.0 (W2K) or older will be unable to access the support materials unless you download and upgrade your web browser. Suppose your router came pre-flashed with an old buggy firmware image that does not work with your broadband modem; you need to download new firmware. Problem is, you cannot get to the new firmware without upgrading your web browser. Problem is, you cannot download a new web browser because your router is not working (you'd have to yank it out). Problem is, after you yanked out the router and its firewall, as soon as you connect to your broadband service, viruses start attacking and/or infecting your PC while your download slows to a crawl.
[Firmware upgrade]
The DI-604 model actually has been released in several hardware revisions:
1) A, B, and C, all of which use an "ARM7" processor
2) E, with an "ARM9" processor
The revision of your router is printed on the sticker on the underside of the router, where it reads "H/W:X" where 'X' is the revision. Whenever obtaining a firmware upgrade, make sure you download an image appropriate for your hardware revision!
My router is a revision E. I just updated its firmware from the 2.18 that came from the factory, to 3.39 from D-Link's web site, because I needed the bug fixes listed there. Contrary to what was stated in the documentation, upon upgrading the firmware, the router's settings were NOT preserved; they were completely erased and reset to their defaults. Moreover, because the new firmware has some changes in its HTTP interface GUI, the "Save settings" feature may not work; i.e. settings saved from old firmware to a file may not be readable by the new firmware.
[NetMeeting]
I use Microsoft "NetMeeting" for free PC-to-PC video-conferencing over the InterNet, saving untold amounts in long distance charges. Problem is, NetMeeting uses the "H.323" video conferencing protocol, which is fatally designed to NOT work behind NAT routers such as the DI-604.
As of the initial writing of this review, D-Link recommends that, in order to let a LAN PC run NetMeeting with audio/video conferencing functionalities, said PC must be placed in the DMZ. http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1214&question=netmeeting
The problem with this approach is that while you are happily talking with your co-workers or friends, your PC becomes completely vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Chances are, since all conference participants use Windows to run NetMeeting, somebody may have neglected to download the latest security patches for his/her PC, so here comes your friendly RPC virus to do the patching for you.
I have found a better set of settings to let NetMeeting work:
1) Designate one LAN IP address as NetMeeting client/server, say 192.168.0.254.
2) In "Virtual application", forward ports 1503, 1720 and 1731 to the above LAN IP address.
3) In "Port triggering", set trigger port to 1720, and forward ports 1024-65534 (both TCP and UDP) to the above LAN IP address.
Why is this better? Two reasons:
1) Most of the older and less secure applications such as FTP, HTTP, rlogin, rsh and telnet use ports below 1024. These ports would be exposed if your PC were placed in the DMZ. With my recommended settings, they would not.
2) If D-Link has implemented port-triggering correctly, ports 1024 and above should only become exposed after the triggering at port 1720 has taken place, and I believe all the dynamic ports become blocked once the triggering connection has been closed. In simple words, all these ports should only be vulnerable while a NetMeeting call/conference is in progress.
[Conclusion]
The D-Link DI-604 is a very compact yet very functional and user friendly router, packing lots of features in a good looking user interface. Its advanced settings take a bit of technical sleuthing to figure out, but turn out to be quite useful and beneficial. My only complaint is that resources and issues outside the router's physical unit make it not very well suited to start a brand-new LAN from scratch. Nevertheless, I recommend the product itself without hesitation.
[Revision history]
2004 12 09: Written by and copyright Tow Wang.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15
Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
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Epinions.com ID:
towwang
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Member: Tow Wang
Location: California; U.S.A.
Reviews written: 43
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
Rabidly passionate about computers and electronics!
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