D-Link DI-704P 4-port 10BaseT/100BaseTX Broadband Gateway with Print Server
by D-Link
Our Price: $84.14
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
Buy Used: from $4.99 (click here)
Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: D-LinkAudio: English (Original Language)
Product features:
- Protects your network
- Shares your broadband connection
- Connects and shares a printer
- Works with any Ethernet Cable/DSL service
- Features an integrated Firewall
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of D-Link DI-704P 4-port 10BaseT/100BaseTX Broadband Gateway with Print Server
Customer Review: Nice Router for Cable/DSL ... needs improved documenation
Summary: 4 Stars
I compared the Linksys, Netgear and D-Link products ... and bought the D-Link 704-P because it had the lowest price. Given my experience ... I would do the same again. I might tell a non-technical person to stay away from this but from what I've heard the other products that compete with this one are not that much better in terms of their documentation and ease of use. I'm a Computer Consultant, very familiar with networking, securiy, TCP/IP, etc. Overall I've been happy ... however there are some areas that need improvement, mostly around documentation.DOCUMENTATION/SUPPORT - The Quick Reference Guide (the only written documentation) needs some work. It is not very intuitive and I think difficult to understand for a non-technical person. The User Guide (on the CD or Website) goes one step further ... but still leaves me starving for more technical details. Their support web site doesn't help much more than the User Guide to answer my questions. I haven't tried to call their tech support yet as my router is working fine and I only have questions to satisfy my curiosity at this point.
ROUTER/SWITCH - This works fine. I basically plugged it in to my cable modem (AOL Cable Service provided by Road Runner) and it worked fine. I didn't have to clone the MAC address although that functionality is available if needed. DSL (PPPoE) compatibility is also available. The 10/100 LED for each port, shows if you have a 10mbit or a 100mbit connection (if it's lit you have 100mbit, if it's not lit you have a 10mbit). I haven't found this documented anywhere clearly, but verified after experimenting.
PRINT SERVER - My multifunction printer is not compatible .. no big deal for me. Check the compatibility list (on their website) before buying if this is important to you.
SECURITY - No security system is 100% fool-proof, however that is no excuse for not having security. If you have Cablemodem/DSL and no other security, get a Router with NAT or at least some firewall software to protect your PC. The NAT feature on this router requires no configuration ... most people don't even need to understand it. It provides a good base level of security although I recommend using something like Zone Alarm (free download off web) as well. The combination of those two things should provide sufficient security for most people, assuming you have a clean system to start (i.e. no viruses or trojan horses). It would be nice if this router had some logging capability both to provide auditability (for better security) and also to aid troubleshooting those applications that require complex TCP/IP connections. What I really wanted was a Router with NAT, Stateful Inspection and Intrusion Detection .. but I couldn't justify spending another $100 for that.
RELIABILITY - No problems (keep in mind this is my only experience with D-Link and I've only had the device for about 1 month).
DESIGN - Nice design, aesthetically pleasing. No moving parts, just keep it away from heat and any interference.
Description of D-Link DI-704P 4-port 10BaseT/100BaseTX Broadband Gateway with Print Server
The DI-704P broadband router is a cost effective solution giving you the privilege of sharing your printer on the network without the need to purchase another print server. The router has a built-in 4-port switch plus a parallel port to share a printer. It has MAC filtering to allow you to allow or deny computers on the network access to the Internet. The router also serves as a firewall along with Network Address Translation which allows you to share a single IP address to protect you from outside intruders gaining access to your private network. The DI-704P includes a new, easy-to-use web based graphical user interface to easily configure the router the way you want it to be.