DI-624 Router Improves With Age

The DI-64 wired/wireless router has been around for a number of years and its staying power seems to be a combination of good performance and firmware upgrades which continue to improve an already good product.

This router has had its growing pains as technology has developed around it but D-Link has continued to address changes with new firmware. Firmware Version 2.70 addressed most concerns by adding a new setup wizard which makes setup very easy. A networking novice can quite literally set up and use this router now with the new wizard. It has become a process of plug it in, run the wizard and answer a few questions. The router will pull and IP address from the cable company and set itself for optimum operation.

The user will have to make some choices about the type of security being used, the level of that security and keys (passwords). Apart from that, the DI-624 more or less sets itself.

D-Link routers are still the only ones which allow the user to adjust the output power for close-together environments. Why cover one's entire condo complex or apartment building, exposing the router to potential hacking? The 624 allows the power level to be set and the user can disable the broadcast SSID so it is not constantly saying, "I'm here" to the rest of the world. Disabling SSID means you need to know the assigned name of the router when logging on. Once this is done the first time, it is automatic after that on either a PC or a Mac.

The 624 "clears its head" now and then at about two week intervals. By this, I mean it reboots itself. This is not even noticeable unless it does it while you're using the connection. It happens quickly (about ten seconds) but clears out the access log and any "cobwebs" which may have gathered through use. Basically, it's a fresh start. It does this quickly, easily and without complications for the users. I have noticed that this takes place almost entirely during times when nothing is using the connection. Of course, if you power down when not using the router, this will do the same thing.

Coverage is very good. It cannot "see" through metal doors and one should be careful to avoid other 2.4gHz appliances such as telephones. Use of a cordless phone on the same frequency will grind any 2.4gHz router to a standstill, so check out the other wireless products you have before jumping in. Using higher frequency phones that are now available get around the interference problems.

This is also a very fast router. Intra-network communications are very fast and efficient. If you back up to a sidecar hard drive, just make it visible on the network and back up to it from remote computers, laptops, etc. The process will be almost as fast as a direct connection to the drive. I have even run simultaneous backups of two computers to the same sidecar hard drive without any noticeable drop in performance or speed.

It should also be noted that D-Link makes a companion range extended, designed to work specifically with the DI-624 router series. The DLW-G710 is a set-and-forget range extender which actually works and seamlessly extends the range of the DI-624 into marginal signal areas. The combination is very easy to use - so easy one can forget they are there.

Finally, D-Link's technical support has been very good. With the new wizard, I imagine calls have dropped off but with early firmware I did require their help and they were efficient and courteous and got me going in just minutes.

UPDATE: 03 August, 2006

The DI-624 has entered its fourth lifetime with a "D" hardware revision and continuing improvements to the firmware of new and older units. D-Link has recently released firmware revision 2.75 which has added an improved setup wizard, more functionality, faster performance and better security. This update requires that the router be re-configured, so before applying the patch, go through the settings and write down any customized settings such as time server address, Static DHCP settings, etc.

I have found that firmware 2.70 added stability and increased performance and so does 2.75. Throughput is even better than before and with three wired computers and four wireless connected simultaneously, it is difficult to tell that more than one computer is online by performance.

One caveat is that the new firmware adds a default for "auto channel select". You may want to change this to channel 6 or whatever channel you are using in case other wireless devices are unable to accept auto-assigned channels.