D-Link DI-604 or SMC Barricade 7004VBR?

[PepperBreath]

Can anyone give me an experienced opinion of both? Right now there is a $10 price difference between the two. The D-Link seems to get higher marks in the reviews that I've seen but the SMC Barricade features a SPI Firewall. The D-Link can be had for $20 after rebates at Best Buy. The SMC Barricade for $10 at CompUSA after rebates.

Can anyone give me an idea of which is better? I already grabbed the DI-604 but I'm wondering if I should swap it for a SPI firewall.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Yeah I just got the dlink myself and it's nice. I've heard that at least some of the smc routers have stability issues, I don't know how accurate that is, or whether they have improved lately, it's just something I remember seeing people talk about on the forums.

 

[SpeedFreak03]

Yesterday I bought that exact SMC router at compusa for $10 after MIR. Anyway, I hooked it up (3 computers and a cable modem), and set all the computers for DHCP. Renewed all the ips, and BAM! Internet works! So then I went to 192.168.2.1(the settings page), enabled the firewall, and opened the needed ports for a P2P program I use. I haven't had a problem yet. Also, after going from using an old P-166 linux box for an internet gateway, I see a huge difference in speed. Just my $0.02.

 

[PepperBreath]

I bought the DI-604 but I'm thinking about returning it for the SMC Barricade. Granted, for $20 I might just keep the D-Link in case something happens to the SMC.

 

[GhettoFob]

I just got this router today and I'm trying to figure out how to forward a range of ports for bittorrent to one computer. On my old netgear rt311 I could just specifiy a range, but I''m not too sure how to get it working on the Barricade. I tried setting up a range of ports (6881-6999) and I made the trigger port 6881. I then set the virtual servers to forward port 6881 to the computer that has bt running. Is this the correct way to do it? Any help is appreciated!

 

[PepperBreath]

You have to go into the "special applications" part, not the virtual servers.

Make 6881-6889 your trigger. TCP for Trigger type and data type. 6881-6889 for Incoming Ports. Enable it with that little checkbox on the side and reboot the router.

 

[kt]

Just get both. I've had the DI-604 break on me before. Dunno what happen, one day it just suddenly stopped working. I still have my original SMC Barricade 7004BR from 3 years ago. Still working like a champ. Like some already said, the VBR does have stability problems.

 

[PepperBreath]

Actually I think I just experienced those stability problems.

I've had the DI-604 for a few days. No problems but I would have liked the extra security of an SPI firewall. I buy the SMC Barricade today at CompUSA. Just a list of problems I've had, some minor, some not.

1. The "EZ-Click" CD doesn't seem to connect to the router. I open an IE window, input the admin IP and it connects fine.

2. Tough time getting an IP from the ISP/Cable Modem even after resetting it for 5 minutes(it usually resets after only 30 seconds). The DI-604 picked up an IP pretty quickly. Eventually the Barricade gets one seemingly out of the blue.

3. Can't seem to update firmware. Router reports a firmware of 1.00 (with a July 3, 2003 date). Newest firmware from smc website is 1.23. I download firmware, unzip, and attempt to update. Router says, "Incorrect Firmware" or something to that effect. I try it a few more times on different occasions. It never works. Strangely, the Log file says, "job sent to printer" "job completed", every time I do this.

4. After surfing and generally testing the router for about 2-3 hours, all connection just stops. No websites, nothing. I can't even get to the admin page. I have to unplug the router for about a minute to get it to work again. Ironically, this occured when I had just pressed "post" after typing up a response to GhettoFob in this very thread. I had to retype everything because all my browser windows gave me a 404 error at the same time.

5. 30 minutes later, #3 happens again. I unplug for a minute and the net is back on.

6. Only 10 minutes after the last disconnect, the admin page completely disappears. The net still works fine but when I try to access the admin page, I get a white screen. I reset the router and it's back.


The bad thing is that I bought this from CompUSA. They are absolute Nazis about returns even though a product is defective. I'm going to have a tough time returning this without getting charged the stupid 15% restocking fee.

 

[GhettoFob]

Originally posted by: PepperBreath
You have to go into the "special applications" part, not the virtual servers.

Make 6881-6889 your trigger. TCP for Trigger type and data type. 6881-6889 for Incoming Ports. Enable it with that little checkbox on the side and reboot the router.

How does it know which computer to forward to?

 

[PepperBreath]

You got me. The D-Link allows you to specify a LAN IP. The Barricade does not.

It does work but of course I only have the one PC connected. Either way, you need to open a connection from the WAN to the LAN, not the other way around(server).

 

[PepperBreath]

If anyone cares...

I exchanged the SMC for another and it's like I got a completely different router. The plug is different for one thing. The first Barricade I got had a real thin plug so that it would fit nice with a power strip. This router came with a traditional wall blister. Secondly, it actually came with cut feet. The other one just had a rubber strip in the box as if I had to cut the feet out of it myself. This router doesn't seem to have auto-sensing ports. I had a cross-over cable to my PC but the router didn't sense a connection. I swapped it for a regular cable and it worked. The other SMC router didn't seem to mind the cross-over cable at all. The menus are completely different as well. Originall the only firewall option I had was "Enable SPI Firewall". Now, there are a couple of other box selections for specific firewall protection like DoS attacks and such.

WTF is going on? Did SMC just switch over everything in the box without changing the model number?

 

[JackMDS]

You probably got the older version (which is a better Router).

Check the firware, by flashing the newset firmware you probably can get the SPI back.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

FWIW, I have an older SMC, the SMC7004AWBR wireless, and it's been outstanding. I have another one that I picked up recently, since my daughter has her eye on a wireless one. The new one is a SMC2402WBR, still in the box. I'll be installing that one soon and giving my older one away.

 

[PepperBreath]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
You probably got the older version (which is a better Router).

Check the firware, by flashing the newset firmware you probably can get the SPI back.

I remember distictly that the SMC router I returned had a firmware of 1.0 but dated July 2003. This router had a newer firmware (1.02 I think) but dated April 2002. Unlike that other router, this one didn't give me any problems upgrading the firmware to 1.23

They both had the option for SPI. The one I returned *just* had that option though. This one has that option but also seperate check boxes for specific types of attack. It also seems a lot less tempermental and the UPnP seems to actually detect it as a "SMC Barricade". The old router was only detected as "Internet Gateway Device" (or something like that).

Like I said, everything about this router entirely different except for the actual box itself. It looks identical to the one I returned. If it works, I'm perfectly fine with that although I do miss the auto-sensing ports of the D-Link or the SMC that I returned.

*edit*

I guess the best way to explain it is that the router I returned had a very simplistic menu. The options it had weren't much different from the D-Link. This one has a ton more configurable options in it. It's completely different.