D Link DIR 645 – Whole Home Router 1000

The Whole Home Router 1000 Wireless N Router (DIR-645) is the newest consumer router from D-Link designed to handle large home networks.  It utilizes “SmartBeam” technology that is supposedly able to send focused beams of bandwidth to individual wireless devices simultaneously, which effectively delivers uninterrupted connectivity to any device, anywhere in your home.  Also included is an active USB SharePort™ Plus for streaming USB devices, and with 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, you can connect your favorite entertainment devices as well, and give you up to 300 Mbps speed and advanced QoS bandwidth prioritization you need for seamless HD video streams, high-performance gaming, and VOIP calls without annoying glitches or lags.

 

This is not your average router, which is evident in its design (round cylinder, instead of the usual box-shaped routers).  This is a D-Link Green router, which is as good for your wallet as it is for the environment.  According to D-Link, the Whole Home Router 1000 is designed to conserve energy, protect our environment from harmful substances and reduce waste by using recyclable packaging.  D-Link Green devices provide eco-friendly alternatives without compromising performance.

 

Sounds good?  Let’s find out if it delivers. 

 

I will be comparing it to my D-Link DIR-655, which currently serves as my primary wireless router, and which has been working well for over two years now.  I consider the DIR-655 to be one of the best routers for wired or wireless networking.  I was pleasantly surprised that the DIR-645 was on par with many features, better in some yet lacking in others.

 

4 Gigabit Ethernet ports; USB SharePort

The router administration for this DIR-645 is almost identical to the DIR-655.  A few minor changes, but overall the same features, functions, and controls.  As a stand-alone wireless router, it worked flawlessly.  I configured it manually (without the disk installer) via web browser, changed the Router IP address, range, and other settings.  It took less than 10 minutes to complete the setup from unboxing to having a functional wireless router.  Using the disk took a bit longer (a little over 15 minutes), but it got me to nearly the same state as my manual configuration, plus a few minor tweaks on the router setting.  The disk setup is user-friendly, and works properly for setting up the router.  I tested other features (QoS engine, advanced firewall, routing, WISH, etc.) for a few days only, but they all seemed to work just as well as the DIR-655.

 

Data transfer when hard-wired (using Cat 5e network cables) were nearly identical between the two units.  I won’t get into this too much more.

 

Next, I tested the wireless feature of the DIR-645.  I used a DIR-655 as the DHCP router (with the wireless off), and connected the DIR-645 and another DIR-655 configured these two as wireless access points.  This is a relatively simple setting change, but I only recommend it if you are tech-savvy.  Because the router functions are handled by a single router upstream of the test routers, I can test the wireless connections purely and separately from the router features.  Both routers are connected using Cat5e cables (for gigabit connectivity).  The two routers are on the main floor of the house, placed about three feet apart on top of the same bookshelf (to simulate the same conditions).  I enabled 802.11 mixed mode (g,n), wpa2 security mode, set at channel 6, transmission rate set at “best”, and channel width at auto 20/40 MHz (to test both n and g connections).

 

I used several computers to test these units:  1) WinXP Pro Dell X1 laptop with internal 802.11g Intel wifi, 2) same laptop with D-Link DWA-160 Extreme N USB Adapter, 3) Macbook Pro 17-inch with Airport, 4) Dell XPS via D-Link DWA-140 (where I store my movies), and 5) an IBM Thinkpad T43..  I bypassed the disk installer for the computers and did a manual configuration.  I searched the available wireless network, found the router SSID for both wireless “AP” units, typed in the password for network security (a definite must-do in San Francisco), and I was wirelessly connected.  All connected well, and I get at least 24 Mbps speed in the farthest corners of my house, and well above 80 Mbps speed anywhere on the same floor as the router (using WinXP Pro wireless connection setting).  Using large video files (150 MB to 2 GB large) I got about 10 MB/s transfer using wireless N (at Auto 20/40 MHz and mixed g+n wireless).  With the DIR-655, I got about 8 MB/s, but this is with mixed g+n wireless connection.  When the DIR-655 was set at wireless n only, it got up to speed with the DIR-645.  Obviously I have a long way to go with testing, but I am pleased to see that this DIR-645 can perform just as well as my DIR-655.

 

When I brought my laptops upstairs, the signal for this DIR-645 was just as strong (if not slightly stronger) than the DIR-655.  Also, the theoretical speed calculated by WinXP Pro was faster when connected to this DIR-645 than the DIR-655.  Again, these are theoretical calculations by the computers.

 

Both wireless routers streamed DVD quality videos with no problems.  However, the one major difference is in performance when streaming HD videos (1080 at 12+ MBps video rate), and I have to give it to the DIR-655 for performance.  When streaming HD videos onto any of the computers in the living room, there was a little stuttering with this DIR-645 that was not seen with the DIR-655.  I’m not really sure why this was the case, given that the DIR-645 had a faster raw data transfer rate.

 

Bottom line is that this unit (the DIR-645) has equal or better theoretical wireless connectivity than the classic DIR-655.  I sat in my living room (about 100 feet and a few walls from the wireless routers).  This was true for a Macbook Pro laptop, a Dell X1 laptop, and an IBM Thinkpad.  The download and upload rates were similar when connected purely as wireless G or wireless N.  In mixed mode (G+N), this DIR-645 seemed to perform better.  The DIR-655 dropped to wireless G throughput in mixed mode, whereas this DIR-645 seemed to better handle a mixed mode connection with theoretical connectivity (WinXP wireless tool indicator).  I’m not really sure why this is the case, since this router does not seem to be dual band (although most dual-band routers run at 2.4 and 5.0).

 

Overall, this DIR-645 performed just as well as my DIR-655 in terms of wireless connectivity.  Highly recommended.