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The
D-Link DFE-910 Network In A Box
Award Winning Performance
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By
Jeff Bouton
6/12/2001
In the past, networking
home computers together required the installation of
a few network cards and a simple hub. Usually,
installing the cheapest 10Mbps network cards would
be more than sufficient for file transfers and
possibly sharing a modem with Internet Connection
Sharing software. With the ever growing
popularity of broadband internet services, multimedia demands, and online gaming, users
required a more robust solution for their networking
needs.
First came the
introduction of 100Mbps Ethernet to the commercial
market. Once reserved for high end networking
environments, Companies like
D-Link began to bring this technology to the
mainstream market. This allowed the average
computer user to experience fast network connections
as well as giving them the ability to share
broadband connections with multiple computers.
Today, it isn't uncommon to pick up a network kit
with a couple of 10/100 network adapters and a
5-port hub for around a hundred bucks and build your
own personal home network. However, the
demands for bandwidth keep growing
exponentially.
Thanks to the rise in
such technologies as Streaming Audio and Video,
MP3's, and Real-time Data, the bar for faster networks
has been raised again. Even an avid user with
a 100Mbps network could feel the negative effects of
the added traffic this content creates on small
hub-based network. Thankfully, there is a
solution.
One of the most
beneficial technologies to come along in recent
years is "Switching" technology. With a switch
installed on a small home network, sharing large
files, internet connections, and other media has
become far more efficient, greatly reducing the
effects of heavy network traffic. D-Link
offers a simple, cost-effective solution with the
DFE-910 Network In A Box Networking Kit.
The kit includes all the components needed to build
a personal home network with two computers or more.
Let's take a look at some specifications of the
hardware, and look at what comes in the package and see
if it is worth the extra few dollars for a switch-based kit...
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| Specifications
and Features of the D-Link DFE-910 |
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A Lot For
The Money... |
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The
D-Link DFE-530TX+
Network Card
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Model |
D-Link
DFE-530TX+ |
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Bus Support
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Auto-sensing PCI, bus mastering |
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Network
Support |
- 10Base-T Ethernet
- 100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
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Boot ROM
Support |
Yes |
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Network
Configuration |
Plug-and-play installation with automatic
configuration |
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Connectors |
RJ-45 |
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Transmission
Speed |
10Mb or
100Mb |
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Cable Support |
- 10Mb Cat. 3, 4, 5 UTP or STP;
- 100Mb Cat. 5 UTP
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Full Duplex
Support |
Yes |
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LEDs |
4:
Power/TX, RX/Link, Collision, Jabber |
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Topology |
Star |
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I/O Base
Address |
PCI bus
detection |
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Standards
Compliance |
- IEEE 802.3 10Base-T Ethernet
- IEEE 802.3u 100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
- CSMA/CD
- AMA Wake on LAN
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Classification |
FCC Class
B |
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Dimensions |
- Physical: 139mm x 73mm
- In Package: 240mm x 35mm x 169mm
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Warranty |
Lifetime |
The
DSS-5+ Desktop 5-Port Switch
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Model |
DSS-5+ Desktop 5-Port Switch |
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Number of
Ports |
5 |
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Transmission
Speed of Ports |
10Mb or 100Mb NWAY auto-negotiation on all 5
ports |
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Connectors |
All ports RJ-45 |
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Cable Support |
- 10Mb connections support Cat. 3, 4, 5
UTP or STP cabling
- 100Mb connections support Cat. 5 UTP
or STP cabling
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Standards
Compliance |
- IEEE 802.3 10Base-T Ethernet
- IEEE 802.3u 100Base-TX Class II Fast
Ethernet repeater
- IEEE 802.3X
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Duplex |
Half or Full per port |
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Protocol |
CSMA/CD |
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Partitioning |
Automatic for each port |
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Uplink Port |
Stacking though the MDI II uplink RJ-45
connection that is stacked
with port 1 |
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LED's Per
Port |
- Link/Rx
- auto-partition and port speed
(10/100Mbps)
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LED's Per
Device |
- Power
- Collision (10/100Mbps)
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Power Supply |
External |
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Fan |
One |
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Classification |
- FCC Class A
- CE Mark
- VCCI Class A
- CSA 950
- UL 1950
- C-Tick
- TUV/GS
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The hardware included in
the DFE-910 Network In A Box consists of a 5-port
switch, 2 NIC's, and 2 20'
Cat 5 network cables. A floppy disk is
provided with a complete set of drivers for the
installation of the two NIC cards.
The kit also comes with two CD's. One includes
Acrobat Reader, IE 4, Netscape 4, and Midpoint Lite,
while the other has some sample games that are
intended for network game play. Individual
Owners Manuals are included for the Switch, NIC's,
and Midpoint Lite software.
One thing that surprised
us is how old the included software was. IE 4 and
Netscape Communicator 4.0 are all but dinosaurs in
the computer world. The Midpoint Lite software
is copyrighted 1999 and has gone through some
changes since then. We hope that D-Link will
realize that it is time to update the software
titles provided with their network kits. On
the flip side, the documentation included is nothing
short of superb. If there is one thing that
D-Link has strived to do, it is to provide a quality product. Not only do they include
individual manuals for each component, but they also
include a Quick Starter Guide that is an excellent primer
on networking basics.
Let's move on and check
out the some of the features of the DFE-910 Network
In A Box Kit...
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