D-Link DSR-55N review

The D-Link DSR-500N is the most expensive router on review. It’s designed with small to medium sized businesses in mind, and it shows. Coming in a square, utilitarian black box, it feels very robust and well constructed.

Along with the DrayTek, it’s also one of the best-featured models on test. Unusually it includes two WAN ports, which means you can have two incoming internet connections if you wish. Not only does this protect you from one ISP connection stopping working, but it can also automatically spread the load between the two, making your network more reliable and increasing the number of users that can have good access to it.

The D-Link can also be used as a print server; you need to plug the printer into the USB port. This option did work in our tests, but it proved tricky to set up and get to operate reliably. The USB port can also be used for adding more storage.

Setup is straightforward: if you only want basic security features such as WPA2 then you’ll be up and running in minutes. More advanced features take time to set up, but the configuration menus are still easy to navigate.

The most impressive feature of the D-Link in our real-world school test was its range. There was a strong signal across the whole school with zero dead spots: no children encountered reliability issues when connected to the D-Link. Along with the DrayTek, the D-Link was also the fastest router on test here with data transfer speeds being mainly in the 60Mbits/sec range.

In terms of security features there are firewall options as well as the option to set up multiple VPNs (virtual private networks). This might be useful if you want to offer pupils or teachers secure, remote access to your school network. It’s a strong feature, but the DrayTek has even more security options, and they were easier to set up. Power-conscious schools may also appreciate the “green” features, which include the ability to power down the DSR-500N at set times (it’s a useful security feature too).

The D-Link is a strong choice. It isn’t cheap, but with good security features, excellent range and strong speeds, it’s a worthy alternative to the DrayTek.

Author: Ian Marks