By Ki Grinsing

Overview

The latest generation models of Dlink routers today are much different from the previous generation models which are usually packed with two or three external antennas. The new models are designed mostly with internal antennas, although there are couples of them designed with external antennas. As with the Dlink Dir857 which is designed with internal antennas, it is flat with the curvature on both sides, looks neat. Although some friends joked that this product is similar to stealth aircraft.

Dlink dir-857 n900 router

This is what D-Link loyal users waiting for – the wireless N900 HD media router. This is the dual band version of the D-Link wireless HD media router with N900 technology. The dual band version with N600 DIR-827 has been around for a while. Among the other wireless N900 routers available in the market today, the Dlink DIR857 includes one USB 3.0 port that makes it different with others.

What this Product Does

As with other competitor products there should be one or several dominant features of a product in order to compete in the market.

Highlights:

• concurrent dual band N900 router with SmartBeam technology
• Gigabit Ethernet ports
• HD media router, fast 1080p video streaming and lag-free gaming
• Shareport plus USB 3.0 for share storage, printer, NAS and DLNA certified – 10x faster than USB 2.0
• Advanced security

Click here for manufacturer’s description and spec details (DIR-857)

Whatever the frequency band your wireless clients operate in, either in a very crowded 2.4GHz band or relatively cleaner 5GHz band this router can accommodate all of them simultaneously.

USB 3.0

Gigabit interface and powerful security system are common features that have been packed in such a premium router as in this Dlink Dir857. What makes the difference with other routers class is where USB 3.0 ports commonly referred to as SuperSpeed port.

Can you utilize this USB 3.0 port optimally? With the USB 3.0 port means your disk storage should also natively support USB 3.0 in order to transfer data from disk to the router and vice versa can also be maximized. This means that data access to and from the disk storage will be faster even accessed simultaneously by multiple clients on the network, especially if you are accessing data from a computer that is connected to the router with gigabit cable speed.

DLNA media server

Another function of the USB port that is also to support your multimedia networking feature is DLNA certified media server. Why is DLNA important? Because all media devices with DLNA compliant logo will be able to communicate easily with each other and will be many more media devices coming in the future made by the manufacturers with DLNA compliant.

Share storage and printer

Not Just that, while many wireless routers with USB port cannot be used for hosting the printer, most wireless routers from D-Link that comes with a USB port can be used to share the printer on the network. At least you do not need to buy a separate wireless print server to share the printer.

Dir-657 Vs Dir-827 Vs Dir-857

At the same time D-link also released to the market two more routers besides Dir857 namely: Dir657 HD 1000 and Dir827 HD 2000. What feature differences are of the three routers you can see in the following table below.

Like other high performance wireless routers, the three routers include Gigabit interfaces in their LAN (4x) for reliable wired connection to any Ethernet-enabled devices including today’s brand new All-in-one computers which are equipped with Gigabit NIC adapter. Any models of powerful gaming desktop and laptops computers are also equipped with Gigabit port for high speed and lag-free gaming experiences.

There is something interesting part of the three routers that is the availability of SD Card slot. This slot is very beneficial if you play a lot more with a digital camera. You do not need to transfer the images from a digital camera, just take off the SD memory card from the camera and insert it into your router and then transfer to storage.

D-Link DIR-857 Vs Netgear WNDR4500

New Netgear WNDR4500 N900 includes two USB 2.0 ports. This is valuable to let you host both storage device and printer together. Media storage to support your media entertainment and printer to support home office for printing activities are two essential devices in your “work and play” network environment. Two is sometimes better than one, but USB 3.0 in D-link Dir857 is the next generation of high speed USB technology which is 10x faster than USB 2.0 (in other wireless routers with USB 2.0 port).

Other features are almost the same including gigabit ports, DLNA media server and security features but I don’t see guest network feature in Dir-857.

If you still have an aging Linksys WRT610N and want to replace with similar class, see first the difference between WRT610N Vs E3200 if you do not have to jump to the premium router which is of course the price is also more expensive. Know your needs before buying.

By Ki Grinsing