D-Link High Speed Home Network

Making Networking Experts of Us All

by Josh Walrath

DWL-G810

            This is the wireless network bridge that many use to connect their gaming consoles to for online gaming.  It is compatible with both PS/2 and X-Box online gaming.  It also has a few unique features that sets it apart from competing products.  It is 108 Mbps compliant with the rest of the Xtreme G series of wireless products, so it will not be a negative factor in terms of performance when it comes to overall bandwidth when a user is playing X-Box Live!

            This little number can also act as a dedicated wireless bridge, so if a house has two areas where computers are kept, and only one internet access, then this can be utilized to connect the two areas without stringing wires throughout the house.  When the DWL-G810 is connected to the DSS-5+ switch, then it can handle as many consoles and computers as a user might want (PS/2, X-Box, HTPC, laptop, etc.).

            Apparently this cannot be used as a wireless access point though, and it lacks a couple of other features that would have added a lot of value to the product.  The main feature I would have liked to have seen was repeating, which can significantly expand the reach of a wireless network when in use.

            The range on this unit is actually very good.  When used in conjunction with the DI-624, it can handle the 108 Mbps speeds with no problem, and has excellent signal strength everywhere in the house. 

DWL-G650

            This is the PCMCIA Xtreme G card for laptop computers.  It is based on the Atheros chipset and is a full featured wireless access card.  When close to the access point, this card performs very well (as tests will show).  The only issue I had is that range for it, while good compared to other 3^rd party wireless products, is not as good as it could be.  The integrated Broadcom wireless adapter in the eMachines M6807 is simply amazing when it comes to range.  I would say that the D-Link adapter can get maybe 75% of the Broadcom’s range.  Now, this does not mean that every adapter that uses the Broadcom chip will get this type of range, but the way eMachines has implemented it is simply phenomenal.

            The main advantage to using the DWL-G650 is the increased throughput that 108 Mbps gives the average user.  If only D-Link Xtreme G products are used in a household, then the access point can be run in a “pure” Xtreme G setting which will give the absolute best performance for a wireless network.

            The latest series of DWL-G650 do not get hot like the previous versions that use an earlier Atheros chip.  I found this to run quite cool in its slot, so it shouldn’t add any excess heat to a laptop. 

DGE-530T

            This is the basic Gigabit-Ethernet controller card from D-Link.  It is a 32 bit PCI card that is based on a Marvel chip.  This is a very inexpensive card, and in ways it shows.  It only supports 32 bit PCI running at 33 MHz, so no 66 MHz use.  Also, by utilizing the PCI bus, it can theoretically use the majority of the bandwidth PCI offers.  Gig-E can take up 125 MB/sec of bandwidth, while the PCI bus can provide up to 133 MB/sec.  Of course that is theoretical.  Gig-E has packet overhead, which takes that 125 MB/sec down, and other computer parts utilize the PCI bus, so that bandwidth is also shared out.

            The main feature with this card is that it is so inexpensive.  It will quickly and easily add Gig-E functionality to a computer, and even though it is sharing resources on the PCI bus, it can improve overall network performance by a factor of 4X.

            For the price, this card does have quite a few features worth mentioning.  It has a cable diagnostic feature that is software based, so it can also test cables that are attached to it.  It supports auto negotiation, so it will automatically configure itself for 10/100/1000 Mbps performance.  It also features SNMP and Wake-On-Lan functionality, so it can be easily managed in a corporate environment.  While it may not be the fastest Gig-E card out there, it more than pulls its own weight in terms of price/features/performance.

Next: Testing

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