Impressed with D-Link Router (DI-634M)
In this post I mention how I'm impressed with D-Link providing emulators, so you can interact with the Router's software before buying. In this post I explain that I was disappointed with a newer Linksys model. I opted to give D-Link a shot for use at my residence, and I've got to say I'm pretty impressed.
As I've mentioned before, I've been using a Netgear device. It's been a solid performer, yet it's a few years old now - so I'm not getting the latest and greatest features even with Firmware updates. I've been specifically looking for some consumer routers that offer WPA2 (EAP), so I can test out a RADIUS server. Through my product research, I've discovered that WPA2 readiness is part of the current Wi-Fi certification. Though, I've seen a couple products out there that will offer WPA2 (TKIP-AES) and not WPA2/EAP. More on that on a future date.
Best Buy has the DI-634M on sale for about $80 until June 3. I picked one up to see if it would suit my needs. As I've mentioned, the EAP capability is something I'd really like to have for a project I'll be working on. Netgear has seemingly been the slowest of all three to include this in new products. The Linksys WRT54G left a lot to be desired in its DHCP abilities (assigning IP addresses to subnet devices by MAC address) and it's ability to act as a DNS Relay (Netgear and and D-Link seem to have this working without issue). Of course, the WRT54GS upset me with the reliability issues I was seeing, and their poor outsourced technical support.
The D-Link DI-6346M seems to have all the features that a 'power user' would want. I say this because probably about 85% of the population doesn't even bother with the extra capabilities their wireless router would have to offer. There's a "StreamEngine" feature that I believe is supposed to prioritize packets like VoIP, though I haven't figured how you specify which device or ports should have it's information prioritized. It's probably more of some hack trick to keep your uplink speed throttled or something.
Of the three vendors, I'm going to have to suggest that D-Link is currently the strongest performer, with Netgear finishing a close second (for their reliability), and Linksys a distant third.
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