Linksys Wireless Cards Setup

D-Link DIR-657 HD Media Router 1000

It's been two years since we've had a new D-Link router to test in PCMag's lab, which is why I was excited to test D-Link's DIR-657 HD Media Router 1000 ($150). Part of D-Link's "Amplifi" line, this single-band router is loaded with D-Link's "HD Fuel" bandwidth prioritization technology which is supposed to make the devices prime for bandwidth-heavy tasks like online gaming and high-definition video streaming.

The reality, however, is a bit different. The single-band DIR-657 has mediocre throughput scores that are eclipsed by speed demons such as Cisco Linksys' E4200 or Netgear's N750 (dual-band routers comparable in price to the DIR-657's laughable MSRP of $150.). The router is suitable for everyday Internet surfing, but even there, there are better-performing single-band routers on the market (such as Cisco's E1200) for as little as $60. Still, it has a few features that make it stand out from the pack.

Specs
With the Amplifi line, D-Link has moved away from its traditional boxy, rectangular style and adopted a sleeker, flattened chassis type reminiscent of Cisco Linksys' E-series line. Unfortunately, D-Link has also adopted the latest router trend of ditching the LEDs associated with LAN port activity. I can't stand this omission because you don't have that quick at-a-glance "oh look, this client lost connectivity to the router" information. The router has two LEDs: One inside the router casing just under the surface, and one on top of the casing. These respresent power and WAN connections, respectively.

The DIR-657 has a USB port for connecting a printer or storage device. There's also a WPS button for easy client connectivity, and an SD card reader for sharing images and video straight from the card. The router's design only allows you to place it horizontally on a surface, not vertical. This limits users' flexibility in placing the router. I prefer form factors like those of the Netgear N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4000) , which can be positioned either way.

Setup
D-Link has a new setup interface for all its new router products. On the router I got, the interface was displayed in both English and French by default. D-Link is following the current trend of router setup which is a wizard that walks you through each step with graphics illustrating how to connect the router. It's not quite as easy as the Cisco Valet Plus, which is also a wireless setup. You still need to have a PC wired to a port on the DIR-657 to perform initial setup.

Ubuntu Wi-Fi WLAN wireless home networking information ...

One of the lines will tell you what chipset you have. It will be listed as a Network Controller. If it says something like unknown device, then Google for it.Some Wi-Fi Cards work out of the box, specifically the ones with the Orinoko, Prism2 or Atheros chipsets (some Prism cards may not work out of the box).

For cards based on Ralink’s RT2500 chipset, see WifiDocs/Driver/RalinkRT2500 . For cards based on Rakink’s RT61 chipset see [ Rt61WirelessCardsHowTo ], these show up as ‘Network controller: Ralink Unknown device 0301′ if you do lspci. If you have a Centrino based laptop , it likely has an Intel ipw2200 based card. It works out of the box but uses an ancient driver. See Luca_Linux’s post for a really good guide on getting the ipw2200 card setup (you may want to stop before he takes you into the WPA portion of the setup). Some users have experienced problems with their wireless connections after upgrading to Hoary from Warty with the Intel ipw2200 (prior to upgrade in Warty everything worked fine). The following message on the mailing list is relevant: http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/2005-April/029837.html One user reported having to remove the module and re-insert the driver once or twice before it can associate with the access point (on kernel linux-image-2.6.10-5-686). For cards that do not work out of the box you can try WifiDocs/Driver/Ndiswrapper .

To begin with you’ll need to set your Wireless Router up as an ‘open’ network. This means you’ll need to turn off all security such as WAP, WEP and Mac Address restrictions. You’ll be able to turn these back on later, we just want to make sure that they aren’t causing any problems in the beginning.You’ll also need to give your network an ESSID. Most wireless routers have one set by default. Often it is “default”, “linksys” “netgear” or some other generic name.

iwconfig Before You Start

(optional, but not a bad idea) Ubuntu ships with a fantastic GUI network tool called network-admin . It can be run from a terminal but it is also readily available under the system menu. (System)->(Administration)->(Networking). You can jump right in and start poking around with network-admin, but its best to run iwconfig from a terminal first. Since linux names your wifi card based on the driver it uses (can somebody back that up?) we first need to figure out what your card is called.