Setup

      As I mentioned earlier, setting up the DIR-655 is a piece of cake, but there is one tip I'd like to pass on before you even hook up your new router. Depending on the brand and make of your router, the IP address of your current routers and other miscellaneous network devices may need to be changed. For example, both my DSL Modem/Router and D-Link DIR-655 use the IP address of 192.168.0.1 which prevents the new router from communicating. A dead giveaway of an IP conflict is that your new router will not connect to the internet and the D-Link "Wizard" is completely clueless giving you communication errors asking you to ensure you connected your router correctly. Chance are since you already own a router, you probably are familiar with changing the router settings so you simply need to log into your current router and change the IP address. I used 192.168.1.1 for my DSL Modem/Router and left the DIR-655 at the default address of 192.168.0.1. Once the IP conflict was solved the D-Link Wizard ran me through the basic settings. Sometimes a little networking experience goes a long way and other times you can simply unpack a router, plug it in and go without changing any settings.

     For most users, running the wizard CD is the way to go. There are no complicated settings and you can be setup and running in no time. As shown in the image above, the wizard does most of the work for you so you don't need much, if any network experience to successfully setup the router.

     As for the experienced network guru, you will probably want to log into the router by typing in the IP address of the router (192.168.0.1) into the address bar of an internet browser such as Internet Explorer. The first screen you will see is the login screen. Simply type in the password you created with the wizard or create a password if this is your first time changing settings. Once you are logged in you can manage pretty much every setting you could ever image...plus some. There is also another wizard that can be used for those who are still learning. Setting up the DIR-655 manually can be pretty intimidating for the novice user, so if you are unsure about what setting does what, just stick with the wizards.

     The biggest thing that impressed me was the detailed security settings. Unlike most routers I have used in the past, the DIR-655 had independent settings for everything from virtual servers and port forwarding to MAC filters and firewall settings. An example of D-Link's forward thinking is the DIR-655's ability to detect MAC addresses of any computer connected to the network. No, not from the log files, but directly in the MAC address filter rules. No more looking at log files or leaving your desk to run IP Config on another workstation to find the MAC address.

     The DIR-655 also has a very nice tool box featuring admin settings, time, system log, email notifications, configuration backup, firmware upgrade, ping testing, and more.