I work at home and have a small LAN which I use for various functions. The main function I need is to connect my PC to the internet and to my various CE machines. A side benefit is the wireless network I set up which works in conjunction with my wired network. I had previously used a 100/10 auto-sensing hub to connect all of the various pieces together, but this did not help me with sharing my internet connection and protecting my PC from unauthorized access. The D-Link DI-704 gateway filled in the missing piece in my network and now I have everything set up the way I want.

First, let me describe what the DI-704 does for you:

1) VPN - Virtual Private Network. Basically the DI-704 creates a local LAN with it's own IP addresses that it then connects to another LAN (or the internet) - this is its gateway function.

2) NAT - Network Address Translation. This is how a VPN functions. Your local IP addresses are all translated inbound and outbound to appear as one IP address on the internet. This means that you can share 1 internet connection among multiple machines and they each get their own IP address.

3) Firewall - The DI-704 serves as a firewall by blocking access to TCP/IP ports which you don't want to be used and preventing Windows LAN access to shared resources. Unlike many software firewalls, the DI-704 is much harder to hack and basically gives you total protection against internet hackers.

4) HUB/Switch - Not only does the DI-704 do all of the above, but it includes 4 switched 100/10 auto-sensing ports. This means that for a small LAN, all you need is the DI-704 and you can connect 4 machines to the internet and each other.

The DI-704 includes a graphical, web-based setup program which works extremely well and allows you to configure it for just about every situation. You do need to know a bit about networking to get things running, but the quick setup guide included will get most people up and running quickly.

Physically, the device is quite small and stays cool to the touch. For me, it sits under my cable modem and does not take any extra desk space.

As an aside - I have just switched cable modem companies and my new company forced me to connect my PC directly to the cable modem and has a LAN based login which allows only 1 machine on the internet. I was initially very disappointed because this stood in the way of the configuration I wanted with wireless internet in my house. After looking over the DI-704 setup, I found that I could get it to work by using the DHCP HOST option where the HOST was really my assigned machine name.

In conclusion - it is very likely that this device will work with all high speed internet configurations even if the ISP tells you that they "Don't Support" VPNs and gateways.

I am extremely pleased with the reliable operation of this device and the low price I paid.

Recommended: Yes