DLink 604+ instead of Aiport Base station???

[sendwine]

NB: I have posted this enquiry under different heading on Whirlpool

I want to get DSL on at home for my dad in Adelaide soon (in Feb when Swiftel prices arrive in SA) and have seen the DLINK 604+ advertised for $200. Is this a good machine?

Opinions please - I have done a search here and on Whirlpool and seen some older opinions on this model - would be interested in recent feedback. It is for single user at home so no need for 802.11g speeds.

Also keen to hear of anyone who has used this in place of an Apple Airport base station. I would be looking at buying an Airport card to use with it on a Blue & White G3 running 9.2 and a G4Ti Powerbook running OS X & 9.2??

Also is security an issue for this configuration as I think this modem has no Firewall just NAT - and I'm not aware of Firewall options for Mac OS 9.x - although OS X has its own built in Firewall.

What client-side software Firewalls are available for Mac OS 9.2 (ie on a system not running OS X)??

[jwloader]

Hi there mate,

I have the D-Link 604+ connected to SwiftDSL, running my PC notebook and flatmate's G4 PowerBook wirelessly and have not experienced any problems so far. In fact, it's all been very easy!

Prior to configuring the allowed MAC addresses and WEP within the 604+ I had successfully established a connection to the web, tested by pinging from the router and from the PC notebook.

As soon as I switched on the PowerBook the in-built Wi-Fi adapter detected the presence of the 604+, promptly assigned itself an IP address and connected to the web! I then enabled WEP and added the MAC addresses of the PowerBook and PC with no problems at all.

The 604+ has firewalling in-built, but if you decide on that model make sure you updgrade the firmware to the latest version from http://www.dlink.com.au - I only attempted this from the PC and discovered that you need to disable the Internet Connection Firewall (as supplied with Windows XP) before the firmware update utility will detect the 604+.

Hope that helps,

James

[alexd]

I am also using the DLink 604+, the built-in firewall offers adequant protection against random intrusion attempts. Its all simple to get up and running, the only issue I had was the internal (network) speed, which is less than 10% of the advertised speed. But I am new to WLANs and this might not only apply to this particular product.

The bottom line is that I have not had any major issues with the 604+, but cannot compare it to anything else.

[Broadbean]

If you haven't already got an ADSL modem, check out Netcomm's DG834G. It's a combined ADSL modem wireless g router. It costs around $300. Setting up is a breeze. The best thing is no extra wires, just one box and takes up only one power point!

http://www.netgear.com.au/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=223

You can also download the manual in PDF format before purchasing to check out its firewall features. More were introduced with the 1.03.00 firmware update.

http://www.netgear.com/support/support_details.asp?dnldID=493