D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G Wireless

Reviews: Networking

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
D-Link
Oct. 17, 2004

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Network Setup

Enough of what's on the outside, lets fire this up and get wireless! As with all other routers out there, to administer it, you will need to connect to its internal web server. To do this, I entered in the obligatory 192.168.0.1 in my web browser and entered in the default username and password. By default, this is the IP address that will be used, with the standard 192.168.0.100 - 200 range used for the built-in DHCP. For administration purposes, it is recommended that you connect a computer using one of the four built-in 10/100 switched ports. This ensures that any changes in the wireless configuration won't mess up administration. Although it is possible to administer this router through the wireless connection, it is not recommended.

This now brings me to the start screen and the setup wizard. The wizard feature is standard on most routers, although I really would like to see the interface and the choices redesigned. Going through the wizard, you are first prompted to change the default password (which is always a good idea to do), followed by setting up the time zone and SSID. All standard stuff! What comes next makes this wizard anything but helpful. You have the option to enable WEP: yes or no. If you do decide to enable WEP, you must then choose between 64 and 128 bit encryption. Most likely you will go with the 128, because 128 is bigger than 64. Now the user is presented with a box in order to put a 26 character HEX key into. If I was a first time user setting this option up, I would now cancel this whole mess, 26 digit HEX key??? What makes this situation worse is that the router has the ability to use WPA-PSK that is a FAR superior security algorithm and is much easier to set up. This option isn't even present in the Wizard. As said previously, the setup wizard is more of a detriment to the average user. I would have scrapped the current implementation rather than present such a pathetic sliver of what this router can really do. Leaving the security issues aside, the setup wizard will enable you to get your Internet connection setup, so if nothing else, you will have Internet access.

Since I scrapped the security from the setup wizard, I am now broadcasting my network in the open. Looks like I had better find those security parameters fast lest my 80 year old neighbor hack me while I'm not looking.

From the starting administration page, there are options to configure the WAN, LAN, Wireless, and also DHCP setup. Having already run through the wizard, the WAN should be good to go. The LAN configuration is useful if you wish to change the IP address range of your router, I personally never liked 192.168.x.x so I switched mine over to 10.100.50.1. It is easy to do, and a simple router reset is all that is needed. The last button on the screen is DHCP, which does not need much tweaking unless you have a specific reason to do it. Here you will have the ability to set static IP addresses, change lease time, or completely disable DHCP altogether. Of all these buttons, the one of most interest is the one entitled Wireless. Since I skipped the security setup portion of the wizard, I need to reconfigure my wireless with quickness.

Wireless Setup

From the screenshots, you can see the various settings that are possible with the DI-624. These include an open system (no security encryption), a shared key system (WEP encryption) at 64-bit or 128-bit using either ASCII or HEX character keys, a setting for WPA, or finally, a setting for WPA-PSK (WPA Pre-Shared Key). My recommendation for securing your wireless connection is to go with the WPA-PSK setting. It is easy to set up and more secure than the older WEP standard. For this type of setup, all that is needed is an initial password or pass phrase. The key entered here will need to be entered into each client for the connection to be established. I would also recommend changing the SSID. I set mine to "wireless," and since there were no other clients within range, this shouldn't be a problem.

Although I chose to set up my router with WPA-PSK, I tried to use WEP when connecting an older 802.11b card. Setting up a 64-bit WEP caused errors when keys were not entered into all 4 selections, unlike the 128-bit that had all 0's already in place, thus avoiding this error. This is probably just an oversight in programming, but an annoying one if you need this feature. I seriously doubt many people will even use WEP, much less the weaker 64-bit version.

With the addition of WPA security and also with the currently ratified 802.11i (WPA2) security standard, we now have increased security. One note to mention is that the D-Link router is upgradeable to the new WPA2 security standard. This will come in the form of a firmware update. The WPA is far superior to the older WEP protocol, so this router is head and shoulders above its older brethren anyway.

Now that we have the basic setup accomplished, it is time to look into the more advanced options this router has by clicking on the Advanced tab at the top. Located to the left are buttons for Virtual Server, Applications, Filters, Parental Control, Firewall, DMZ, and Performance.

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Page 3 of 7

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks
Page 3: Network Setup
Page 4: Network Setup Cont'd...
Page 5: Adapter Setup
Page 6: Testing
Page 7: Conclusion

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4 User Comments

1 - Posted by Rich on October 27, 2004 - 8:19 am

I probably didn't go into too much detail about the fact that this router has a cable test feature. Although nice, it kind of got overshadowed by some of the the other items such as the wireless. I just got a chance to fully utilize this nice little addition. We had internet failure with our existing router and I figured the thing had just died, so I hooked up the dlink to test it out. Sure enough it told me the WAN cable was disconnected. Further information then told me that the Tx pair was OK but the Rx pair had a break at 28 meters. Tracking down the line found a major rip in the cable that was caused by a careless ladder, and sure enough half the wires were intact, the other half weren't so lucky. I would definitely rank that feature up their with the "don't know how good it is until you need it" catagory. Now if they could just get that setup wizard fixed,..... :wink:

2 - Posted by scott on November 11, 2004 - 12:28 pm

I have used the g520 card on XP and 98 machines with no problems connecting to a 624. However, trying to use the cards on win2k at a users has proved out to be misserable. There tech support has only suggested reloading the operating system, 3 times and no help. All in All I would say that it is not usable with win2k and that there tech support is not helpful having clocked up more than 12hrs talking to them.

3 - Posted by Guest on February 12, 2005 - 11:19 pm

I have now spent 5 days trying to get a DI-624 and DWL-G650 functioning on an XP laptop. I also bought a D-Link print server. Level 3 D-Link tech support can't solve the problems. What a mess.

4 - Posted by Rich on August 9, 2005 - 11:36 pm

I would like to post a quick update to this initial review. D-Link has new Firmware for this router which now enhances the virtual cable test feature and adds the WPA2 standard to the security setup. The setup wizard still blows (hint hint). They also removed the speedboost with static turbo to better conform to the WiFi Alliance specifications. All-in-all, I would still recommend this router. It is currently holding its own as my primary gateway. That is saying something since I have fried some gateways too.

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