My experience with D-LINK DI-624 and D-LINK cards

I recently upgraded my network from 802.11b to 802.11g. Here are my
impressions. I am posting these hoping that these might help someone
thru the road blocks that I came accross.

1. I was upgrading from legendary Linksys 802.11b router. I was also
using a signal booster with Linksys. One thing first, when it comes to
the bredth of options in setup screesn, Linksys is the King. For
example, different MAC filters for wired and wireless connections,
only Linksys offers that! I chose to go with D-Link for g b/cos of
price and speed. My Linksys had a built-in uplink port as well, the
newer ones don't. Not a big deal though.

2. Upgrade your DI-624 (rev C) to the latest firmware to get the WPA
and other improvements. YES, WPA DOES WORK!

3. The reference material on DLINK techsupport pages is just pathetic.
I had to figure out everything by trial and error, and get this, from
reference materials obtained from Linksys site. If you think about
it, it should make sense--standards based stuff should be pretty
similar on various vendors's offerings.

4. DI-624 offers WPA. I am currently using WPA PSK. Once I have setup
a RADIUS server, I will switch over to WPA RADIUS.

5. I am not using MAC filtering, because it's a major administrative
nightmare. Besides, to find MAC address on some divices is not easy at
all--for example my Linksys Print Server. Linksys was better because
it had a separate MAC filter list for wireless clients.

6. The setup screens in DI-624 are laid out in most illogical way. You
rearly have to dig around a lot to find what you are looking for. For
example, part of core wireless settings are on the page Titles
WIRELESS, and the other half are burried under a different menu level
in a page titled PERFORMANCE.

7. I am not using SSID broadcast disable for various reasons. One,
it's not realy a secure thing, just a false sense of security. Second,
your gear may or may not work with SSID disabled. For WPA, you need it
enabled (more on that later). Third, according to MS MSDN paged on XP
Wireless, SSID is supposed to be on, and if it's off, things can go in
different direction (and they do).

8. YES, SuperG TURBO MODE DOES WORK! Use Dynamic Turbo. Static Turbo
doesn't always work. A lot of communication losses. I routinely see
speeds of >30kbps. Disabling SuperG takes the speed to more familiar G
speeds of around 15-17Kbps. You realy enjoy this 2x boost!

9. Firewall screen is one of the most unintuitive. You will notice
that your port forwarding etc, all show up as greyed out rules on the
Firewall screen.

NOW ABOUT THE CARDS.
1. Both 650 (notebook) and 520 (PCI) support WPA and SuperG.

2. Download the new drivers.
**TIP** Both DWL-G650 and DWL-G520 use the same drivers (both ship
with the same CD). But their site has v2.46 for 650 and not for 520. I
simply downloaded 2.46 and used it with 520 as well. No problems.

3. Here is something that got me going in circles for a while: when
you run the setup.exe included in the updated drivers, it uninstalls
the existing files, but it doesn't install the new ones. Since it
doesn't tell you that, all of a sudden you are left with unrecognized
card, and a lost AirPlus utility. You have to run setup.exe TWICE!

4. If using WPA, you have to go thru a login procedure every single
time. I am using D-LINK AirPlus utility as they suggested, so I am not
sure how it would be with XP's zero cfg. Connection to the network
might be there, but you can't realy do anything. You have to go to the
site survey page, select the SSID, connect, pick WPA PSK, click OK on
the passphrase dialog to connect. It could be all automatic. But
atleast it remembers your passphrase. Could have been worse. Still,
you have to go thru these steps to connect. CAN ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME
HOW IT IS UNDER XP's NATIVE CFG BOX?

5. Since cards are made by D-LINK as well, these have SuperG support
built in. CONNECTIONS ARE FAST. Twice as fast as regular G.

6. I never used the supplicant application on D-LINK downloads area
for these cards. Everything seems to be working fine for me. I would
assume that like everything else on their tech support area, a lot of
the material is outdated and needs fixing.

Bottom line, great product. Good speed. Absolutely pathetic
documentation and total lack of updated information. It seems like
engineering and documentation and marketing are three different
companies who have no idea what the other group is doing. For example,
no documentation on WPA, no updated drivers for DWL-G520 while it's
same as DWL-G650. Apparently no need for supplicant application. etc
etc.

Good Luck.
Mark

Very nice report Mike...thanks for taking the time to post the
experience.

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

Yes, thanks for your experience and you're right, documentation and
the router's administrative screen is senseless. If I didn't have
experience with my Linksys, I would have been TOTALLY lost configuring
this thing.

I know what DDNS is but do you know what DDNS sites it's compatible
with?

Mike

I too just setup my wireless net work using the same d-link products. I
agree they're doc. sucks.
I had the same issue re reconecting thru the site survey, it annoyed the
hell out of me. I downloaded a utility from funk.com called Odyssey and it
resolved that issue for me. You should give it a try.

"tommy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> Yes, thanks for your experience and you're right, documentation and
> the router's administrative screen is senseless. If I didn't have
> experience with my Linksys, I would have been TOTALLY lost configuring
> this thing.
>
> I know what DDNS is but do you know what DDNS sites it's compatible
> with?

"woofman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<VVtIb.24086$i55.18391@fed1read06>...
> Mike
>
> I too just setup my wireless net work using the same d-link products. I
> agree they're doc. sucks.
> I had the same issue re reconecting thru the site survey, it annoyed the
> hell out of me. I downloaded a utility from funk.com called Odyssey and it
> resolved that issue for me. You should give it a try.
>

Thanks for the tip. Does it support the superG mode of D-Link gear, or
that will be uneffected by this product?

thanks

dlink's latest drivers for the DWL-G520 (vers A) do resolve the WPA-PSK
problems- unfortunately, I still see better results with Super G disabled
(even though I get a 108Mbps signal) then enabled. (see my post elsewhere
in this ng on this)

Cheers,
Paul


Latin phrase to live by: "Illegitimis nil carborundum"



"Mike Harris" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> I recently upgraded my network from 802.11b to 802.11g. Here are my
> impressions. I am posting these hoping that these might help someone
> thru the road blocks that I came accross.
>
> 1. I was upgrading from legendary Linksys 802.11b router. I was also
> using a signal booster with Linksys. One thing first, when it comes to
> the bredth of options in setup screesn, Linksys is the King. For
> example, different MAC filters for wired and wireless connections,
> only Linksys offers that! I chose to go with D-Link for g b/cos of
> price and speed. My Linksys had a built-in uplink port as well, the
> newer ones don't. Not a big deal though.
>
> 2. Upgrade your DI-624 (rev C) to the latest firmware to get the WPA
> and other improvements. YES, WPA DOES WORK!
>
> 3. The reference material on DLINK techsupport pages is just pathetic.
> I had to figure out everything by trial and error, and get this, from
> reference materials obtained from Linksys site. If you think about
> it, it should make sense--standards based stuff should be pretty
> similar on various vendors's offerings.
>
> 4. DI-624 offers WPA. I am currently using WPA PSK. Once I have setup
> a RADIUS server, I will switch over to WPA RADIUS.
>
> 5. I am not using MAC filtering, because it's a major administrative
> nightmare. Besides, to find MAC address on some divices is not easy at
> all--for example my Linksys Print Server. Linksys was better because
> it had a separate MAC filter list for wireless clients.
>
> 6. The setup screens in DI-624 are laid out in most illogical way. You
> rearly have to dig around a lot to find what you are looking for. For
> example, part of core wireless settings are on the page Titles
> WIRELESS, and the other half are burried under a different menu level
> in a page titled PERFORMANCE.
>
> 7. I am not using SSID broadcast disable for various reasons. One,
> it's not realy a secure thing, just a false sense of security. Second,
> your gear may or may not work with SSID disabled. For WPA, you need it
> enabled (more on that later). Third, according to MS MSDN paged on XP
> Wireless, SSID is supposed to be on, and if it's off, things can go in
> different direction (and they do).
>
> 8. YES, SuperG TURBO MODE DOES WORK! Use Dynamic Turbo. Static Turbo
> doesn't always work. A lot of communication losses. I routinely see
> speeds of >30kbps. Disabling SuperG takes the speed to more familiar G
> speeds of around 15-17Kbps. You realy enjoy this 2x boost!
>
> 9. Firewall screen is one of the most unintuitive. You will notice
> that your port forwarding etc, all show up as greyed out rules on the
> Firewall screen.
>
> NOW ABOUT THE CARDS.
> 1. Both 650 (notebook) and 520 (PCI) support WPA and SuperG.
>
> 2. Download the new drivers.
> **TIP** Both DWL-G650 and DWL-G520 use the same drivers (both ship
> with the same CD). But their site has v2.46 for 650 and not for 520. I
> simply downloaded 2.46 and used it with 520 as well. No problems.
>
> 3. Here is something that got me going in circles for a while: when
> you run the setup.exe included in the updated drivers, it uninstalls
> the existing files, but it doesn't install the new ones. Since it
> doesn't tell you that, all of a sudden you are left with unrecognized
> card, and a lost AirPlus utility. You have to run setup.exe TWICE!
>
> 4. If using WPA, you have to go thru a login procedure every single
> time. I am using D-LINK AirPlus utility as they suggested, so I am not
> sure how it would be with XP's zero cfg. Connection to the network
> might be there, but you can't realy do anything. You have to go to the
> site survey page, select the SSID, connect, pick WPA PSK, click OK on
> the passphrase dialog to connect. It could be all automatic. But
> atleast it remembers your passphrase. Could have been worse. Still,
> you have to go thru these steps to connect. CAN ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME
> HOW IT IS UNDER XP's NATIVE CFG BOX?
>
> 5. Since cards are made by D-LINK as well, these have SuperG support
> built in. CONNECTIONS ARE FAST. Twice as fast as regular G.
>
> 6. I never used the supplicant application on D-LINK downloads area
> for these cards. Everything seems to be working fine for me. I would
> assume that like everything else on their tech support area, a lot of
> the material is outdated and needs fixing.
>
> Bottom line, great product. Good speed. Absolutely pathetic
> documentation and total lack of updated information. It seems like
> engineering and documentation and marketing are three different
> companies who have no idea what the other group is doing. For example,
> no documentation on WPA, no updated drivers for DWL-G520 while it's
> same as DWL-G650. Apparently no need for supplicant application. etc
> etc.
>
> Good Luck.
> Mark

(E-Mail Removed) (Mike Harris) wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed). com>...
> 7. I am not using SSID broadcast disable for various reasons. One,
> it's not realy a secure thing, just a false sense of security. Second,
> your gear may or may not work with SSID disabled. For WPA, you need it
> enabled (more on that later). Third, according to MS MSDN paged on XP
> Wireless, SSID is supposed to be on, and if it's off, things can go in
> different direction (and they do).

I bought the D-Link DWL-520(rev e) last night. Boy what a mistake. I
assumed it would be able to connect to my WAP with SSID disabled. Not
a chance. The software forces you to enter an SSID (and if you don't
it uses "default" whether you like it or not). Not only that, no
matter what PCI slot I put this card in my Windows 2000 system
stutters (mouse especially) when the D-Link software is running.

Contrast this to a Cisco 350 PCI I borrowed a week ago. It connected
to the NetGear WAP immediately and my system was smooth as silk.

I'm returning this tommorow (minus 15% restocking fee). The only up
side is the laugh I got from one of D-Link's support articles:
http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.as...n=disable+ssid

Am I missing something or is this article utterly contradicting
itself?

"Jason" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> (E-Mail Removed) (Mike Harris) wrote in message
news:<(E-Mail Removed). com>...
> > 7. I am not using SSID broadcast disable for various reasons. One,
> > it's not realy a secure thing, just a false sense of security. Second,
> > your gear may or may not work with SSID disabled. For WPA, you need it
> > enabled (more on that later). Third, according to MS MSDN paged on XP
> > Wireless, SSID is supposed to be on, and if it's off, things can go in
> > different direction (and they do).
>
> I bought the D-Link DWL-520(rev e) last night. Boy what a mistake. I
> assumed it would be able to connect to my WAP with SSID disabled. Not
> a chance. The software forces you to enter an SSID (and if you don't
> it uses "default" whether you like it or not). Not only that, no
> matter what PCI slot I put this card in my Windows 2000 system
> stutters (mouse especially) when the D-Link software is running.
>
> Contrast this to a Cisco 350 PCI I borrowed a week ago. It connected
> to the NetGear WAP immediately and my system was smooth as silk.
>
> I'm returning this tommorow (minus 15% restocking fee). The only up
> side is the laugh I got from one of D-Link's support articles:
> http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.as...n=disable+ssid
>
> Am I missing something or is this article utterly contradicting
> itself?

You have to be careful which Dlink card you get. They have so many
different versions with different chipsets with similar model numbers.

They have models that have + at the end that are totally different than the
ones that don't have the +, and there is also some named G520 with different
revisions of its own.

Dlink isn't the only company to do this. Linksys also likes to use the same
model number even though the chips inside are totally different.