|
D-Link DI-714 cable/dsl router and access point
Score: 3 out of 3
Review Type: Hands On
Reviewer: Chris Kaminski
Date: Aug 3, 2001
Part 2/2
 The Admin Interface
Who would have thought a router interface could actually be ‘pretty’. The opening
screen shows the status of the router with nice pictures depicting what peripherals
are currently connected and active. The wizard worked well for first time setup,
but finding your way around the rest of the interface can be a little confusing.
I found myself poking around a bit to try and find certain screens – no big deal.
I did however like some of the features found in the screens that made the router
admin feature set seem ‘finished’. These included being able to release and refresh
your WAN IP address if using DHCP and being able to set ‘reserved’ IP address for
computers on the lan by computer name. This eliminates having to manually define
a static IP address for some of your LAN PC’s.
Unlike most other routers, the DI-714 ‘knows’ what time it is, you only have to
set the proper time zone. I am glad someone finally realized that the time is available
on the Internet and is readily accessible to broadband routers. This makes the built
in attack logging feature very useful.
Shortfalls of the router
The 714 does have a couple of shortcomings, but they should not stop most users
from fully enjoying the router.
Very simple port forwarding
First, when setting up virtual servers (aka port forwarding) the web administration
screens only let you select from 6 popular services like ftp, web, pop3, etc. To
enable port forwarding for other ports, you must TELNET to the router and navigate
the ASCII menus. In addition, it is impossible to set up port ‘ranges’ to forward.
Special Applications Support
Unlike D-Link’s previous routers, the 714 is lacking the ability to set up ‘triggered
applications’. Lastly, a dynamic DNS system is completely missing too. Very limited
access control
Access Control
The access control on the DI-714 is VERY limited. First, there is no ACL for the
wireless side. Second, the only ACL or filtering that exists for the router is built
into the TELNET interface and is not exposed to the WEB interface. The filtering
that IS built in is limited to turning on and off a few limited protocols, Mail,
WWW, FTP, Telnet, and News. Note, these are either ON or OFF settings and apply
to everyone.
|
D-Link DI-714 router
Menu:
