D-Link → D-Links new DIR-685 is speed daemon

Check out the short review at smallnetbuilder, it has the fasting routing speed ever tested, and it could probably handle alot more connections than 200, if their test system could produce results over 200.

And the wireless N speeds are on top of the charts for every downlink test in 20mhz & 40mhz modes, and did relatively well for uplink tests.

»www.smallnetbuilder.com/ ··· 0851/96/

Gone is those buggy Unib crap and buggy Atheros PU/WPU so now all those DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855, DGL-4500 are stuck with faulty CPUs. I see that the DIR-685 blows them away using Ralink RT2880F PU 266MHz but it has 64MB of RAM and 32MB for Flash wow! Since the Belkin N+ uses the same RT2880F so I know the performance that chip with 32MB of RAM I have. Realtek Gig PU at 832KB Packet memory is the same in DIR-655 A3/A4, DIR-825, DIR-855, DGL-4500 as well Belkin N+. I would buy DIR-685 but I am sure the price is high right now..

I wonder why they didn't make it dual band. Also wonder if it will ever be available in Canada, the DIR-855 never was.

That's $300 USD.. I don't feel like spending that type of money on router where most of it's features will be in a closet with close door. They need to put those features in another router. But I see the need for those extra LAN to WAN and WAN to LAN speeds for moving media faster using full duplex mode in Gig. So that means most Gig switch in these routers are not set to full duplex or just not using full features of what Gig switch port should be.

Dlink DIR-685 XTREME N STORAGE ROUTER
specs..
50436
Brand Dlink
Vendor Code DIR-685
Description

TeCHNICaL SPeCIFICaTIoNS
STaNDaRDS
Ieee 802.11n (draft 2.0)
Ieee 802.11g
Ieee 802.11b
Ieee 802.3
Ieee 802.3u
Ieee 802.3ab
SaTa
uSB 2.0
DeVICe INTeRFaCeS
4 Gigabit LaN
1 Gigabit Internet/WaN
2 uSB 2.0
Built-in 802.11n (draft) wireless LaN
WIReLeSS LaN DaTa RaTeS
up to 300Mbps¹
WIReLeSS LaN SeCuRITY
WeP
WPa and WPa2 (Wi-Fi Protected
access)
WIReLeSS LaN aNTeNNaS
Internal antennas
FIReWaLL FeaTuReS
Network address Translation (NaT)
Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI)
VPN Pass-through / Multi-sessions /
PPTP / L2TP / IPSec
QoS
WMM (for WLaN traffc)
QoS engine for prioritizing traffc
SHaRePoRTTM FuNCTIoN SuPPoRT
allows connection of external hard
drives, fash memory and multifunction
printers to uSB ports
allows sharing of hard drives, printing
and scanning functions
9
DISPLaY PaNeL
3.2” true color TFT LCD
Navigation buttons
HaRD DRIVe SuPPoRT
SaTa-standard drive of any capacity
size
2.5-inch internal 3
DeVICe MaNaGeMeNT
uPnP support
DDNS support
Integrated Wireless Security Wizard
and Wireless Protected Setup (WPS)
support
Windows Connect Now (WCN) support
Web-based management using
Internet explorer® v6 or later; Mozilla
Firefox® v2.0 or later; or other Java-
enabled browsers
automatic frmware update notifcation
email notifcation for triggered events
uPnP™ aV Server for streaming media
to compatible media players
4
Built-in FTP server for fle access from
over the Internet
5
Scheduled downloads
LCD and hard drive power
management for conserving energy
and extending hardware life
Storage permissions for users
Multi-language fle name support
INSTaLLaTIoN
Quick Router Setup utility 6
SharePortTM Network uSB utility 6
Desktop placement
LeD
Power
LCD
CeRTIFICaTIoNS
FCC Class B
IC
Ce
C-Tick
Wi-Fi Certifed b/g/n (draft)
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
Works with Windows Vista
Safety
CSa
LVD
RoHS compliant
ReCoMMeNDeD SYSTeM
ReQuIReMeNTS
For optimal wireless
performance:
Computers and network devices with
D-Link Xtreme N or other 802.11n
(draft) interfaces to connect to the
DIR-685
Warranty 1 Year Manufacturer's return to base

rear ports using USB Flash Drive
click on image to make it bigger


using internal esat HDD for NAS-Ready Storage
click on image to make it bigger


internal views of pcb
click on image to make it bigger


internal views of WNPU
click on image to make it bigger


internal views of storage chip, realtek gig chip and ram
click on image to make it bigger


rear view showing 2 USB ports and 5 gig ports 1 for the WAN
click on image to make it bigger


external view of the TFT screen
click on image to make it bigger

NPU (Network Processor Unit) - Ralink RT2880F 266MHz
click on image to make it bigger


GPU Gig Processor Unit - Realtek RTL8366SR 832KB Packet Buffer
click on image to make it bigger


Storage Link Processor Unit
click on image to make it bigger


Tabletop view of DIR-685
click on image to make it bigger

Extra notes..
2 USB 2.0; allow connection of external hard drives, flash memory and multi-function printers to the USB port); to allow sharing of the hard disk, print and scan functions; Hard Disk Support: SATA hard drives of any capacity, 2.5-inch built-in

But does it still use that Shareport nonsense instead of acting as a true printer server?

Still needs external antennas, so it will do better at long range.

No it works on it's own as everything is built-in that's what the Storlink chip does for a NAS-Ready Storage Router.
What data I've uncovered. If you look at the last image you see they're testing it with a 900MHz cordless phone instead of 5.8GHz or DECT 6.0 (1.9GHz)

Ralink WNPU has a range of 1,200FT This is 2T3R design.

Three is a pay service for one of the dlink framework features I don't know what that is for? I did see it displayed on the TFT screen.

Technical Specifications

Processor StorLink SL3516 (ARM-9 300MHx)
Memory 64MB (RAM), 32MB (Flash)
Networking DHCP Server, Dynamic DNS
Network Security Data encryption
Network Protocol CIFS, AFP, NFS, WebDev
Hard-Disk Type 2Bay: Up to 2x 1TB SATA-II HDD (No Limitation), Raid Level 0,1
USB Interface USB 2.0 (Backward Compatible to USB 1.1), Flash Disk Auto Copy
Dimensions 6.5" x 7.5" x 3" inches
Operating System StorLink SL3516
Additional Protocols FTP with SSL/ TLS,

Cooling fan (for esatII HDDs)
click on image to make it bigger


2x 64MB for a total of 128MB of RAM
click on image to make it bigger


My Photo File
click on image to make it bigger


Full Scale of the Photo Above
click on image to make it bigger


Hard Drive Status
click on image to make it bigger

So, is this DIR-685 better at wireless speeds and range than the DIR-855?

I was about to get the DIR-855, but I guess i'll hold off for a bit..

Thanks,
Fabian.

Well yes because of the features you get with this router blows all of the DGL/DIR-series out of the water! Looks like to early to tell that this will be a smart router so you can change the ports speed instead of the switch ports are set to auto. That's most of our problems everything is set to auto.

On the wireless side it's using the newest Ralink WNPU for 2.4/5.3GHz and it's 2T3R design from two internal ANTs!

This shows you your wired connection speed status
click on image to make it better

Is there a release date yet? I'm definately interested in upgrading to this router, purely for the wireless performance; which does look good.

On guess on the first post it will be.. Where I got the info from they had it already released. Out of 5 stars the this storage router got 5/5 and the comments were great. Price wasn't great. There is a company in the USA was selling these for $387 but I guess it's a hold on delivery.

This would be a router that you would mount or place on your kitchen counter or your desk. I don't think you could stick it into a network closet and leave there.

Okay looks like this will be only 2.4GHz and 5GHz will be disabled. But the wireless is stronger than current line-up. Here's the

DIR-685 Web Admin - BT Manager


DIR-685 User Groups


Correction. RAM is dual chips 64MB so it's 128MB of RAM
FLASH is 8MB + 32MB FLASH

Disk Management Web Admin


There is a torrent section that shows you number of peers/seeders so the BT application is built-in I don't know if that will make it to the USA version?

Trust me, I'm not the type of person to buy a router of this quality, actually any quality and throw it under the desk to destroy itself. I treat my routers like a reciever or Blu-ray player, it has a rack all to itself, has line conditioned and is kept clean, lol.

Quality means alot to me, I hope this router can provide it, price isn't really an issue; quality is however.

I keep my stuff clean also but no one wants to see network gear in the house. So it's hidden. DLINK is packing a lot into this router. I am sure they had issues since 1/09 but now it's almost July 09 and still it hasn't been released well here. Other countries have it and man expensive over there.

DIR-655 only good for wired gig router, wireless never stable with Atheros chipset. Ralink is pretty good. I see why DLINK gone with that brand. The DIR-605 might never come to the USA it has 2x 6dbi ANT in the red model I think that is 32MB RAM and 8MB Flash system. Not much more info on that one except is very popular and cheap!

^^^
Agreed with the wireless comments, and it is a little expensive, I'm not too bothered with the price, I guess I'll look for some deals when I see it.

The major issue with the 685 is that downloading to the HDD is slow, what I've read so far.

You watch they will screw up the firmware so bad it will reboot every other day.

It looks cool i might buy one, but the way dlink is going with there firmware here lately i dont know if i would want one or not now.

Ill be honest, apart from poor wireless networking on too many of there products, firmwares are D-links biggest problem because they've sucked for about 4 years now. If they increased the quality control on there firmwares, like fully bug test on beta releases and gather feedback on beta firmwares so full releases have the quality that should be required of a full release.

Here's the latest review pros/cons so looks like they fix the slowest in the HDD. 1 TB is the limit of internal HDD.

»www.ohgizmo.com/2009/06/ ··· -router/

I am impressed by the review and the thought of having this router makes me giddy. I'm not happy with screen freezes however, and small things like buttons not being responsive makes me a little mad, because I'll be spending $300 on software that already needs a firmware update.

Im pretty convinced Im buying the router, but why does everything from d-link need a firmware update? Then it will need a firmware update to cure flaws in a crappy update. I hope things have improved with this router.

Funny that this new model is under SONY D-LINK so did SONY buy or merge with D-LINK?

Well you might wait for Hardware B1 or A2 to get out the kinks first as you know this model will have plenty of them. It's throughput for LAN to WAN and WAN to LAN is full throttle 600/700mbps where the others are 60/100mbps or 200/300mbps, but makes me wonder how come ever other router isn't that way? Then this router has 128MB of RAM that blows away 16MB, 32MB, 64MB or RAM router.

Maybe its something to do with the harddrive/storage device, the Sony D-link thing, not sure.

I appreciate the need for different hardware versions, newer, cheaper chipsets, but why does the hardware version have so much influence on the performance? Why can't a firmware just fix all? Like screen freezes, as I understand it would be completely software based; rather than hardware based.

I'm not a fan of the idea that customer A has hardware version 1, and even with all the latest firmware updates his performance will suck no matter what because of a hardware issue. So, the true hardcore enthusiast like myself that has to go through 3 different hardware versions to get optimal performance.
How do you know what hardware version of a D-link router your buying? will it say on the box? Because after talking about this it would be best to wait for a 2nd generation model to come out. Again, it all depends on wether these issues are hardware or software based.