[Fwd: D-Link Router Problems]

[wwarren.notme at timesucker.homelinux.org (William Warren)]

This is from comp.dcom.telecom. Opinions?

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: D-Link Router Problems
Date: 19 Jun 2003 21:59:11 -0700
From: Dave Close <dave at compata.com>
Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom

Just an FYI to members of the list. I recently acquired a D-Link
DI-707P "router". This thing has seven local 10/100 Ethernet ports,
one 10BaseT uplink port, and a parallel printer port (which I don't
care about).  Unfortunately, I have found that several of the claims
on the box and in the Web descriptions are misleading at best.

1. The syslog capability does not conform to the appropriate
RFCs. There is no host name, time stamp, facility, or priority
included in any of the messages. This makes it difficult to properly
filter them.

2. The SNMP management facility is broken. 32-bit request identifiers
included in messages to the device are truncated to 16 bits in
replies.  That means any working management program will not recognize
any data from the router. Once you find a workaround for that, you
discover that data is only available for the uplink port, none of the
others.

3. The device also claims to be a switch, not a hub. However, all
traffic is visible from all ports (not just broadcast traffic). That
eliminates the security advantages of a switch.

You might expect a fairly inexpensive box like this to have some
shortcomings. What surprised me was the obvious failure to test it
with nearly any standard software and the willingness to make claims
which are obviously untrue.

D-Link provides a "support" link on their Web site with a form to send
a question. They also accept email to support at dlink.com. But they do
not answer any messages sent through either of those channels - ever.


Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA      "Whenever you have a secret,
dave at compata.com, +1 714 434 7359        you have a vulnerability."
dhclose at alumni.caltech.edu                  -- Whitfield Diffie


-- 
William Warren
(Remove ".notme" from my address if you want to email me)