D-Link DIR-655 Extreme-N Gigabit Wireless Router
by D-Link Systems, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $73.99 You Save: $51.00 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $45.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of D-Link DIR-655 Extreme-N Gigabit Wireless Router
Customer Review: Great Router with a Couple Glaring Flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, I should state that I am probably a 5% use case and that perhaps what I need is a small business-class router, but having tested this item at the limits of a home environment I can probably help some people out.
Ok, on to my network:
My WAN link is a high-grade Comcast cable connection
The DIR-655 is connected to another outboard Gig-E switch. I forget the brand, but it's nothing you would have heard of.
Connected to the router and switch is:
Windows Home server (Gig-E)
1 Desktop (Gig-E)
2 Desktops (100 Mb)
1 Xbox 360
1 HP LJ-1300 something or other business-class laser with a built-in Jet Direct interface
On the wireless:
1 Desktop
Up to 6 laptops
Up to 3 PSPs
1 iPod Touch
Up to 4 smartphones
Obviously, there was never a point where all these devices were in use, but a typical night would have up to 1 server, 1 printer, 4 desktops, 6 laptops an Xbox and a smartphone (14 devices in all) simultaneously connected. Pretty damn impressive by my estimation. Most of the time, at least two of the machines are running a few torrents.
This unit was purchased from a local retailer (Hard Drives Northwest) as a replacement for a Linksys WRT54G V.4 running Tomato firmware. It served me heroically for many months in this extreme situation. It became apparent that the old hardware couldn't service so many connections while running QoS. Additionally, some of my housemates with extreme RF obstruction were complaining of signal inconsistencies.
I shopped around for a router that could do QoS, had wireless-N and was reasonably up to date. The DIR-655 was a fairly logical match.
The initial setup was a bit frustrating. This unit relies heavily on the wizard. I'm typically not a standard-use case and like to avoid wizards telling me what I want. It took a lot of prodding around the counter-intuitive interface to get all the settings I wanted in place. I was used to Tomato and even DD-WRT and those firmwares, despite being (or maybe because of) coded by open-source developers was far more intuitive and natural.
I think the bottom line was that I had expectations that similar functions would be grouped together more logically. Interfaces being a highly subjective topic I'll just stop with those observations
The Problem:
One of my not technically-savvy housemates was introduced to torrenting and like a lot of neophytes, he went nuts right out of the gate. This caused a massive failure of the router.
One night, the router just stopped passing data. Everyone could connect wirlessly and could ping the router. I was able to access the console wirelessly and ping other wireless clients, but I could not get the router to issue IP leases to any of the devices that were connected over cat-5/6 to the gigabit switches. Once I assigned a static IP address to a machine I was still unable to communicate with anything. Bottom line: Nothing could pass between the wired and wireless parts of the router, so my WAN connection and by extension the internet was out of commission.
I rebooted multiple times, reset to factory defaults multiple times and updated the firmware to the latest release. Each step was a temporary remedy, lasting for 3-5 minutes before everything seized up. During these periods of malfunction I was still able to get into the router's console. Very strange.
I tried many different scenarios, used the device with and without stuff connected to the wired part of the router, but as soon as I brought up the wireless it would just go tits-up after a couple of minutes. I had owned the router for a couple of months and my retailer very graciously swapped it out with a new unit. The troubles persisted.
Eventually I brought the network back up and allowed laptops to connect one by one until the router failed. After isolating the one machine causing all the trouble, I found out why - the laptop's owner was seeding about 20 torrents. Looking at the active sessions in the console I was able to see something like 100 connections all being used by this one laptop. After a short education on the technology behind torrent and why it can quickly become a network resource devouring monster he drastically pared down the number of torrents he keeps active. Ever since, the router has performed exactly as I had hoped with the possible exception of wireless reception in areas of the house where the signal has to pass through 3-4 walls and a floor. There's no fixing that without me buying an additional access point. I'm not shelling out any more cash for people that MUST have wireless access in their bedrooms.
I'm not bothered one bit by the fact that the router got the piss beaten out of it by a ton of torrents. This is a SOHO device. Overloading of the WIRELESS section of the router caused a complete failure of the WIRED section. Why? This makes no sense and confounded my troubleshooting of the problem.
This product loses one star for a goofy interface and a really odd failure mode. I still think it's an excellent router, especially for less than a hundred dollars. Just be aware of the limits.
After nailing down the problem, it has been humming along without a complaint.
Customer Review: D-LINK Xtreme versus NETGEAR RangeMax
Summary: 3 Stars
A low tech guy's comparison of two high tech wireless routers.
No dropouts on either router. If you're getting dropouts, you or your neighbor may have a 2.4 Ghz cordless phone or a microwave oven thats interferring with the router's signal.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Has accurate user reviews.
D-LINK DIR655: Is overated on user reviews.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Normal speed 54 Mbps (802.11g PC). Up to 108 Mbps if you have a super G card in your remote PC.
D-LINK DIR655: Normal speed with my 802.11g capable remote PC is 54 Mbps. Allows speed of 300 Mbps with a N speed card in your remote PC.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Has a standard signal strength. But there is an option to disable extended range.
D-LINK DIR655: Has adjustable signal strength (low, med, high).
NETGEAR WPN824v2: No external antennas. 7 internal.
D-LINK DIR655: Has 3 external antennas. Removal.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Fancy looking blue lights in the round blue dome on the side of the unit. They indicate antenna activity. Light green indicator lights on the thin side of the unit to indicate power on, transmitting, which port connected, etc.
D-LINK DIR655: Light blue indicator lights on the thin side of the unit to indicate power on, transmitting, which port connected, etc.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Claims easy setup. Setup was easy. Worked within 20 minutes.
D-LINK DIR655: Claims easy setup. Installing it was easy but it still didn't work initially. Took about 2+ hours to get it working (I'm good with computers, but I'm not a techy super geek).
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Easy to change settings. Short update period. No reboot.
D-LINK DIR655: Moderate to easy settings changes. Must save and reboot each time. Then log back in.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Annoying time out feature. Seems less than 1 minute - not adjustable.
D-LINK DIR655: Annoying time out feature. Seemed longer than 2 minutes. Also not adjustable.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Short (cleared daily) activity log. Not customizable.
D-LINK DIR655: Customizable activity log.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Allows user to set keyword and website URL block.
D-LINK DIR655: URL block only. No keyword block.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Has WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA2-PSK security options.
D-LINK DIR655: Same
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Lots of geeky configurations.
D-LINK DIR655: Same
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Limited to one schedule for every option.
D-LINK DIR655: Allows different schedules for different events (e-mail activity logs, times to block wireless access, times to block web access, times to block specified URLS, etc)
NETGEAR WPN824v2: The free 1 year parental protection service offer by a company called "Trend Micro" is no longer any good. I tried to turn the feature on and got - "No Longer Available...". Only option is to buy the 1, 2, or 3 year service (ranges $49 to $120). I'll stick to K9 Web Protection - its free but must be installed on each PC (google it and download it). NETGEAR's keyword block only works when the user tries to enter and send a keyword through a text box on a web page. Doesn't work on incoming web page text. Their URL block works OK. The website category filters and keyword filters in the parental protection software like K9 or the paid filtering services are a must if you have kids.
D-LINK DIR655: No parental protection. No keyword blocking. Just URL blocking.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: Help - Nice blue side panel on user interface with details for each function on the current page.
D-LINK DIR655: Help - Limited info on the active page. You must hit hyper links to get to detailed info which is on separate pages in the router's user interface.
NETGEAR WPN824v2: A keeper.
D-LINK DIR655: Returned to store for refund.
Easy to use, lots of configurations - both for novices and pros
Summary: 4 Stars I am replacing a returned Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A with this router after our previous D-Link router started rebooting excessively after 5 years.
We have 2 dedicated iMacs and 1 powerbook, 1 Apple TV, 1 HP printer, several external hard drives, and 1 gaming hungry Wii on our home network. We also have 3 iphones/touches and the oh-so-troublesome Nintendo DS coming on and off the network. My husband has a newly developed addiction to Call of Duty: World at War for which I will soon be purchasing Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce or a Truper Herramientas #MD20HC 20LB Sledge Hammer. In his defense, I have Boxee running on the Apple TV streaming shows, and I regularly video chat with family, as well as need to upload large files to my course webpages, so let's just say a the health of our router may impact the health of our marriage (or at least the day-to-day happiness).
Bottom line: we need a Mac-friendly router that can allow WEP (for the Nintendo DS), allow me to prioritize certain traffic, and a gracefully handle large amounts of upstream and downstream data.
Pros:
1) Easy set-up if you know something about what you are after. I was up and running in about 10 minutes with some problems getting it to happily accept my PPoE
2) Very configurable - I wanted no SSID broadcasting, WEP password (archaic, cannot handle N with this - of course), e-mails sent on triggering events
3) It can handle WEP passwords (the AirPort could not and the big daddy DIR-825 appears to have some trouble with it) - so, if you have a child or adult with an old-school WEP-requiring device, keep this in mind. Otherwise, take a look at D-Link DIR-825 Xtreme N QoS 4-Port Gigabit Switch Simultaneous Dual Band Draft 802.11n Router (White) if you have an internet-heavy household or small business.
4) I can assign static IPs by Mac address at will - e.g. to 3 networked hard drives, 1 of the iMacs, and the Apple TV, which I need to SSH into fairly regularly.
5) Printing even large, picture heavy pdfs is fast with no loss of data - much faster than the AirPort, which is surprising
6) I have not had to reset the thing in 3 weeks, whereas the Apple was dropping every time the phone rang
7) I can talk on a 2.4 Ghz phone while typing on my laptop while streaming video and uploading powerpoints with no problems even with the router 10 feet away from a running microwave, the phone base station, and the fridge - so it is robust (obviously, pick a better spot if you can - I just wanted to see how it handled interference)
Cons:
1) No included software for the Mac - 192.168.0.1 in a browser is all you need to get set-up
2) No included USB drive software for the Mac (so you can attach a USB drive directly to the router) - ummm.... yeah - I was hoping to have one of the networked drives hooked up to the router, but this is a no-go. However, it is my understanding only 1 computer could access the drive at a time. I tried SharePoints, which did not help at all. There appears to be no work around for this.
3) Customer service is poor - I e-mailed them to inquire about work arounds for the Mac and never even received a reply beyond the "we'll get back to you within 48 business hours" response - that was 2 weeks ago - this jives with my 1 previous past experience with D-Link in which the tech could only read off his screen and did not comprehend it in the slightest
4) I had to (no kidding) download a patch for the router to handle the hubby's Call of Duty game, but it still hangs up if I am downloading or streaming online
Final thoughts: This router has a lot of options while still being relatively user-friendly (I was able to get it going with only a basic understanding and zero interest in reading the manual). The AirPort was not acceptable because I needed to assign permanent addresses to certain things (like the AirPort or external drive) to make it easier to find. I also needed to keep WEP until the hubby gives up the DS. It does not work as promised, as he cannot connect to his "game" if I am even downloading podcasts. He must connect first. I would NOT recommend buying Call of Duty for your husband, but I WOULD recommend this router.
Customer Review: Good Performance, But Reliability Issues Linger W/ Vista (possible solutions included)
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first wireless router. I've had my laptop for several months, but it wasn't until my neighbor password protected his WiFi out of the blue that I would need a router of my own.
I'd never bought a router before. The other one I'd been using was a non-wireless dinosaur of a router that'd been given to me - but it worked so I went with it. My standards for the new router as I saw it were:
Had to have multiple outputs for wired connections;
Had to be Wireless 'N';
Had to be compatible with my PS3;
And, it had to be reasonably easy to set up.
I am quite computer savvy when it comes to websites and general troubleshooting, but networking is by far my weakest link. It's for that reason that ease of setup was of the highest priority.
I researched a dozen models, from the Belkins to the highly regarded Linksys WRT160N, but I finally decided on this model due to the implied upside. I bought the item locally because I wanted to easily be able to return it if there were issues.
Out of the box, all of my wired connections and my PS3 worked fine. I set up the software on my laptop as instructed but the wireless would only provide a 'local connection' which means it gets online but won't access the internet. I went through all the troubleshooting tactics I know how to do - power cycling the cable modem/router, checking various settings in the control panel, etc. However, I quickly hit a dead end when nothing worked.
I called tech support. The support guy answered after 10 minutes or so of holding, reasonable for a Saturday night. His accent sounded Indian, but he spoke very clearly and didn't seem as if he was reading from a script.
Unfortunately, the support guy was only marginally helpful. It appeared that his level of knowledge was exhausted when he walked me through all of the basic troubleshooting methods - the exact same things I'd done before calling support in the first place. After an hour on the phone, he'd had me check the same IP settings over and over and had me power-cycle the router and modem a dozen times - all to the same result. At the end of our call, he informed me that he was going to transfer me to a higher level technician.
After about five minutes on hold, he came back on the line to inform me that I would likely be holding for a while and that it'd be better for one of their techs to call me back. He agreed to have a technician call me back the following morning local time.
In the meantime, I had been searching on my own via my own personal tech support (Google) and found an article about a glitch with Windows Vista 64 where the wireless doesn't wake up from sleep mode due to some battery saving setting... I disabled that feature, rebooted my laptop and sure enough, it worked perfectly after that.
It took tech support 24 hours to get back to me - considering it was Sunday evening when they finally called back, I guess that's to be expected.
While that solved the initial connectivity issue, I've since learned that there are other issues with this router and Vista. Almost daily, my wireless connection to my laptop slips back into 'local only' mode, which can be infuriating.
I've found that one of two remedies always cures the issue - right clicking the icon in the system tray and clicking 'diagnose & repair' - then waiting for it return with suggesting the wireless connection be reset usually works. If that fails, I go to the 'DOS' prompt and release/renew the IP address by typing 'ipconfig' and hit [enter] then type ipconfig/release and hit [enter] again; then when it comes back to the prompt type ipconfig/renew and pressing [enter] once again. After that, I usually have to 'diagnose and repair' again and reset the connection again but that sequence has solved the problem every time it has occurred.
I rated this product a '4-stars' because the performance of this router has been outstanding. The router itself is on the second floor of my house; I can always get four and usually five bars of connectivity in my basement - literally in the opposite corner of the house. Running two wired PCs, my laptop and my PS3 simultaneously has done nothing to slow the performance of this product. If not for the ineptitude of tech support, and the issues with Vista, I would definitely rate this item '5-stars'.
Customer Review: The BEST Wireless Router with B/G/N and QOS
Summary: 5 Stars
Hello All...Happy New Year.
A bit of background...I am coming from 2 Apple Airport Extreme base stations which I could not tolerate after regular drops and continuous issues. I had regular disconnects...wired and wireless....and speed issues with bridging the second router. I therefore decided to go out on the hunt for another router that gave me the options I wanted and wireless N. I have an IT background...so options are a must. :-)
I bought the DIR-655 along with the DAP-1522. The dap for bridging purposes to the home theater.
The router setup was very straight forward....i plugged it in to our cable modem. Power cycled everything and I was up and running inside of 5 minutes. The first thing I did was go into the router setup via a web browser and make adjustments to the admin password...etc. Second thing..which is what I always do with new hardware is that I updated the firmware. ***NOTE - FIRMWARE UPDATES on DLINK devices erase the settings...so its a good idea to do them at once.*** One other thing to remember is that you can set the router up and save the configuration to your computer...this device and the dap-1522 both allow you to save the config...which saves time after an upgrade as it is easy to restore.
The router upgraded without issue and was up and running in a couple of minutes. I went in and created a wireless network, adjusted the dhcp scope, and voila....ready to go without any freaky tweaks or anything. Adjusting the DHCP scopes are not necessary for most..but I like to use my own IP address scheme and I do not like the default 192.168.0.x scheme.
Once the router was running I went to the DAP-1522. This was TRICKY...but that is only because I wanted to update the firmware. The easy part is press the button on the side of the DAP...when it blinks....move to the router and press the button on the router...you have 120 seconds. Voila both are paired and ready to go. If you change the DHCP scope this gets tricky as you cannot really access the DAP since its on the 192.168.0.x subnet... Simply put....dont change the dhcp scope and you can do the push button magic to get the DAP paired..then update the firmware. Enough about the DAP.... :-)
The router is functioning flawlessly and giving us better coverage then we had with the Apple Base Stations. I am getting about 68% coverage in my bedroom as compared ti 38% with the apple product.
Tweak Time - I wanted to prioritize all VOIP traffic for my OOMA system. Reason being..it is our primary phone and I dont want voice traffic to sound choppy. I simply plugged the VOIP device (ooma for me) into the router. Once it got an IP address I created a QOS policy with a priority of 100 and told it to monitor all traffic from the OOMA device. This will insure that the OOMA gets priority on the internet as compared to web browsing, gaming, torrents, etc... We have been using it this way for 3 days plus and asking people we speak to if voice is choppy....so far no complaints....ps..this was when we were doing some downloading on the internet. TESTING purposes only.
I love the ability to go into the setup of this router and adjust every piece of it...IF YOU NEED TO..... If you dont need to it will work out of the box and it will work perfectly.
The router has QOS services built in and they are turned on to Automatically shape bandwidth based on need. In other words...if you are watching a HD movie via netflix on the Xbox...this thing will make sure the xbox has priority. If you are on Vonage..this thing will make sure Vonage gets most of the priority so the calls are CLEAR. It works....and Flawlessly. Like I said...you can tweak VOIP....if you are nut like me...or you can let the router decide. It will work.
The only issue I have with the devices...the LED lights are ugly and bright... That bugs me a bit..but there are easy ways to dim the lights out....some tape, etc... :-)
I give this item a 5/5. I can write a whole lot more but it would not make for a healthy review. I love the product, the price, and the functionality.
PS...I switched from apple base stations that cost about $179 each...so price doesnt always equate to quality. Get this Router...try it out...you will be impressed.