Six ADSL firewall routers tested


Contents
Introduction
 D-Link
 Dynalink
 Netgear
 Nortel
 Linksys
 Allied Telesyn
 Specifications
 How we tested
 Sample scenario
 Editor's choice
 About RMIT
D-Link DSL-300G
D-Link DFL-700

The D-Link solution was part of a two-piece solution, ie there was a separate ADSL modem and firewall device. All the other submissions used an all-in-one integrated solution. It does the same job as an all-in-one device but it does cost more.

There are also additional cables that get in the way and an extra device that you have to configure.

You first have to connect the DSL-300G to your phone line. We decided to configure the modem first so we connected a PC to the DSL-300G. We had to then install a small utility which comes on the install CD.

From this utility you can run a basic setup which will allow you to configure the modem using your PC's Web browser. Here you can configure your ADSL account user name and password and connect to your service.

Once completed, we tested the service and all seemed fine and unplugged the PC from the DSL-300G. We then ran a network cable from the Ethernet port of the DSL-300G to the WLAN port of the DFL-700. We also had to run a network cable from the LAN port on the DFL-700 to our PC. Once we did this we were ready to configure the firewall.

Like most of the other units tested we had to open up a browser at 192.168.1.1 to configure the firewall. In this case there wasn't much to configure besides the WAN port. There was also a DMZ port on the back. After a few ping tests to see who was around we were up and running.

This product may sound complext to set up, and indeed there is more involved than with the other devices tested, but overall it actually is not that bad.

After taking a closer look inside the firewall we could see that it's quite a capable firewall. Not only does it offer firewall security but it also supports VPNs, content filtering, and bandwidth management, as well as having good logs and reporting.

Product D-Link DSL-300G
D-Link DFL-700
Price AU$999.95
Vendor D-Link Australia
Phone 1300 766 868
Web http://www.dlink.com.au
 
Interoperability
Very good levels of network and logging support.
Futureproofing
Good levels of customisation and scalability provided, albeit in a slightly more difficult to deploy package.
ROI
Priced quite high for the features.
Service
1 year warranty.
Rating
D-Link DSL-300G & DFL-700

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Talkback 1 comments

    Way to compare Commodore's or ...Anonymous -- 07/04/05

    Way to compare Commodore's or a Falcon's with a Porsche ZDNet.

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