Jul 15, 2006 11:07 AM
19100 Views
(Updated Jul 17, 2006 11:54 AM)
Hi people.
I recently (~4 weeks ago) purchased this router. So far, its been so-so experience with this router.
Let me talk in detail. The router is identified by following strings on its label:
Router: DLink DI 524
H/W Ver: B4 (Australia)
Price I paid: INR 2400
And it features:
Lan Ports: 4
Wan Ports: 1
Wireless Access point: 2.4GHz 802.11b/g
Other regular features are there (NAT (if you consider that a feature in routers!) Firewall, MAC/IP/Domail/URL filter (useful for homes with children), DHCP (Static available, MAC based, useful for connecting multiple computers without too much config), Some dialup kinda features(PPPoE etc, all useless on my sify connection) DynDNS(again, useless on my connection and utility), stats, status and log saving and, the one I found rather important, logging facility to a local syslog server).
It took me around 10 minutes between taking out this box from package, and slipping it between a PC and an internet connection.
I have encountered some problems with this piece, but they might have been caused by some other reasons. The router reboots!!!(~ 5-15 times per week)Sometimes the router reboots, and this really creates problems when you are using windows network shares to copy large files between compters. However, reboot is quick (~1-2 seconds) so it hardly effects any internet downloads. Reboots might be caused because of possible attacks on my network (I regularily see some ip addresses trying to conect to some ports on my IP) and being a low end router, I donot expect it to do anything better in these situations.
Router has other problems too. It loses time. If you set the clock of router, then clock on router is always within around 2-4 hours of what you set it. This creates log files with wrong timestamps, and I havent found a workaround yet. Possibly, this problem is linked to rebooting of router too!
One different kind of problem. I have never been able to use any security option other than WEP on this router. Since WEP is known to be cracked rather easily, I tried other options too, with no luck. The router interface shows a variety of security options (WPA, WPA2, WPA PSK, and WPA2 PSK and few more) But I was not able to use WPA*. Once configured, the router will start normally, but my windows PC wont be able to connect to WLAN. There is a possibility that I am doing something wrong, so, I promise to edit and update these lines after confirming what went wrong.
/* Start: Update
The WPA is working! Probably something was worng with my windows Lapy. It was not willing to give up configurations it had sved for about a month, and hence was not able to connect to wi-fi. now its okay, after one format. :D
Too bad my lapy’s wlan doesn’t support WPA2.* I will have to leave systems with WPA-PSK, AES for now :(
End: Update*/
And one idiotic issue! There is no option to turn Wireless acces point off! However I never need it off, since my computer runs 24x7. but some people might really want this feature.
Apart from these issues, I find this router good for its price, especially if you just want to enjoy surfing while moving around, like I do.
The performance of this router is decent, which shows when you connect all four local ports to computers and start large transfers. It enough for home use.
Finally, I’d say that I am pleased with my purchase decision, as this piece is fulfilling all my needs so far. But as I have’t laid my hands on other brands, a comparative study is pending.
