My first router - D-Link DGL 4300

[Cota]

Ahoy. The cable guy upgraded my cable modem yesterday and my two computer home network stopped functioning, and I had to get a router to fix it. (Don't ask me how it worked before. I had the old modem attached to a simple hub and it worked. So after doing a search on home networks here and reading some reviews here and there, I decided that a D-Link 4300 would suit my needs. Trouble is, I've never used a router before.

The good news is, it's up and running, both computers have net access and it was super easy to get this far. What I'd like to learn more about though is the firewall. I've been using a software firewall so far, but I gather I should turn those off now and just use the router. But before I do that, I want to make sure the router firewall is working. I went into the configuration menu for the router, and it "looks" like it's on by default, but I admit, I don't really understand many of the options listed. So I'm asking you guys, if it's setup good enough out of the box, or must I set it up myself?

For what it's worth, I'm using the 'wired' ports, no wireless, since the house is already wired. Also, I'm not currently playing any online games, so I can't use those to test or play with.

Any tips and tricks would be most welcome, thank you.

-Cota

[Huw the Poo]

As per page 40 of the manual, you just need to enable SPI.  Don't have the DMZ enabled unless you have to.  That should be all you need, AFAIK.

[Cota]

I'm glad you shamed me into reading the manual (and installing the acrobat reader). The manual says to change passwords and IP addresses from the factory defaults. So I did all that.

The trouble I have though, is sometimes the connection to the internet goes away for this computer. If I click 'repair' on the network connection gizmo, it usually fixes it. Though a couple of times, I've had to reboot the PC. I don't know what is going on there.

Thanks,

-Cota

[Dante Rising]

Cota,

I purchased this exact same router based upon suggestions from forum members here, as well as due to the strong reviews from Newegg. I'm happy to report that I've had the router on continuously for over one month, and it has been absolutely rock solid and stable. I'm also very pleased with how fast and strong the wireless capabilities have been. I've been wirelessly downloading demos to my PS3, cruising the Internet, and transferring large files from my laptop to my Archos 605 all at the same time. Not one issue or noticeably slowdown.

My only recommendation is to turn OFF the Gamefuel toggle (located in your Admin settings), unless your are actively using the router for gaming. This was suggested to be me by several people as a way to further increase the speed of the modem for activities outside of gaming. On my firmware revision this option was defaulted to active status. When I switched it off the router became even more efficient in most activities.

Based upon my experiences it has been one hell of a good router.