Review- D-Link Wireless
D-LinkAir DI-711 Wireless Home DSL/Cable Router
D-LinkAir DWL-520 Wireless PCI Adapter
Review by EIVigIVIa
July 15, 2002
Conclusion:
Techware Labs.com would like to thank D-Link for providing both the DI-711 and DWL-520 for evaluation purposes.
This wireless router does exactly as it claims, acting as a router in addition to providing wireless access. In addition, it provides many safety and security features such as built-in hardware firewall and port/packet filtering. Having used several other consumer oriented broadband routers, the DI-711 is on par with its competition if not better. In addition, it incorporates technologies to integrate VPN (virtual private network) network standards in addition to other advanced features. It also features a built-in serial port to connect any standard external modem to, so that if the broadband should fail, there is a backup internet connection.
The Status Screen presented through the Web Configuration, is very useful as a troubleshooting tool. It can help determine where a break in the network is should there be one.
Based on our own test results, the DWL-520 PCI Wireless Adapter, when used in conjunction with a DI-711 Wireless Router, works only nominally slower than a 10 Mbps hard wired configuration. This is to be expected to to signal overhead from placing wireless stations at different distances. At 3 feet, the adapter worked faster than a hard wired 10 Mbps connection, possibly at the full 11 Mbps of the Wi-Fi 802.11u standard. This is due to the station being places right next to the DI-711 Wireless Router, thus presenting only nominal signal loss.
Thank you for reading this review for D-Link's DI-711 and DWL-520 wireless products. Should you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at EIVigIVIa@netzero.net
9/10 Beers
D-Link DI-711 MSRP - $199
D-Link DWL-520 MSRP - $79
