D-Link DI-704 Internet Gateway and Firewall with 4 Port Switch

I read ALL these reviews before purchasing my DI-704. It's really very easy to install/configure. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow for anyone who knows anything about the networking settings of their PC. You essentially copy the static IP address (of your @home or broadband provider) from your PC to the DI-704 (via an easy to access browser-based setup window). You remove all DNS and Gateway settings in your PC's networking setup and copy that info to the DI-704 setup window.The one trick I discovered to access the DI-704 setup window via my Netscape &/or Internet Explorer browser was to temporarilly turn off any Proxy Server settings. Once I did that, my browser immediately connected to the DI-704 for setup.At the end of the process, the DI-704 has all the IP address, subnet and gateway settings that @home put into your PC. Each of the PCs you connect to the DI-704 router are simply configured so that it's IP address is dynamically provided (ie: not static).In less than 30-minutes, both my wife's and my laptop PCs were sharing the same @home cable modem and now both of our PCs are behind a firewall (for added protection from internet hackers).All in all, a great value and easy to install and enjoy.Hope this review helps you make the right choice for you.

way to much time to set up when you can just down load a firewall

I wish I had read the reviews here before I bought my DI-704. Its curious how some reviewers make it very clear how frustrating installation is, and others (maybe on the payroll for D-Link?) rave about the product's performance. Well, maybe the experts appreciate it, but the guys that have never seen (much less installed and configured) a router are in for a headache. Here's my experience with it....Physical setup is, actually, pretty simple. Reroute your cable modem connection from the back of your computer to the back of the router. Connect cables from your NICs to the front of the router, connect a power cord, flip a switch. Thats it. Now for the hard part...configuration.The configuration is done through a web browser, which appears to communicate directly with the guts inside the router, so even if you cant access the internet yet, you can access configuration through your browser. Documentation provided STINKS. It seems this router can probably do a hell of a lot for you IF you understand network administration. But if, like me, you just want to hook up your two home computers to the same cable modem and share the connection, the documentation will leave you feeling completely lost. I managed to get the internet connection on 2 computers working without too much trouble, but the documentation does not even mention the word "email". So I spent about 2 hours trying to get email access through the router. FORGET ABOUT calling tech support! I was on hold for tech support for about 45 minutes before someone came on and offered to help me (they dont provide a toll-free number). That person turned out to be a "customer service" person, not a tech person. I had already tried the suggestion he provided (it didnt work) and so he offered to put me back on hold for tech support. After holding another 10-15 minutes, I assumed I was placed at the back of the line again so I hung-up. With the help of other online resources (the "practicallynetworked" website) I finally got properly configured for internet access and email on both computers. It seems to be working fine now, and doesnt seem to be slowing my system at all. However, I have NO IDEA if the firewall within the router is working, and so I am keeping zonelabs running on both machines just in case. I also have no idea of how (or why) I should make use of the many other extensive features provided by the router. In short, the product seems to be very good, but due to the very poor documentation (provided in print, and on-line) and worse customer support, I'd STRONGLY recommend any potential router buyers look to a different company.

I bought it thinking it was user friendly to set up. Its not. It took me several attempts at setting it up to decide I had no hope.I am comfortable around computers but this thing kicked my butt. The directions are next to useless that come with it. I had a friend that runs a banks networking come over and it took him a long evening to figure it all out. Now that its running it does work pretty good for me. I have to turn it off once inwhile from it losing its settings or something. Other than that I can only hope the firewall is working(not sure how to check). Good item? up to you to decide.

Changed my mind. This one is a disaster. Linksys far better. I now would rate this one a one-star.

This is a neat little router idealy for a small home network. It comes with four RJ45 10/100 ports on the front and a connection in the back for a DSL or cable modem. Two CAT-5 cables were included as well.I have a networking background, but the quickstart guide has screen shots for Windows95/98 and easy to follow instructions. I was already using DHCP to connect to my cable modem, so I didn't need to change any settings to use this router. I literally plugged it in, restarted, and was up and running with one Windows 95 and one Windows 98 computer....The advanced options can be setup via your web browser. It supports such options as NAT firewall protection (you can limit which ports are accessed), DMZ host (allows one computer to operate without the "protection" of the firewall), set the IP range and domain name for DHCP, and change access rights for different computers. It also has a "virtual server" which lets you rout services to different computers such as HTML to one, FTP to another, etc.