Customer Reviews

D-Link DWL-7100AP Wireless Access Point w/SNMP, 802.11a/g, 108Mbps

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It had the latest firmware and wireless protocols installed, and the web-based configuration interface has well organized pages of setup options. The Help pages are actually helpful. As with any networking device it is good to be a little familiar with TCP/IP so you can handle minor annoyances like giving your computer a temporary static IP address in the same subnet range as the DWL-7100AP so you can communicate with it during configuration (This is explained in the manual). Afterwards, I was able to change my computer back to dynamic IP addressing, and still access the configuration pages of the DWL-7100AP. It will work just fine right out of the box with default settings, but as with any wireless access point, better security can be had by creating your own SSID name, disabling broadcast of the SSID, changing the default user ID and password, using MAC filtering so that only your computers will be accepted by the access point, and enabling data encryption. The DWL-7100AP allows you to use two kinds of WPA encryption, which is much more secure than WEP. I highly recommend this product and it's well-written manual. Some users report having their connection dropped frequently. I found that interference from 2.4 Gigahertz portable telephones in my house was the culprit for dropped connections on the 802.11g band, which is in the same frequency band as the phones. Since I switched to the 802.11a band (5 Gigahertz) I very seldom have dropped connections from the DWL-7100AP.

I upgraded from a LinkSys 802.11a+g PCI card in my daughter's computer to a DLink 802.11a+g card. At that time, I had a LinkSys 802.11a+b access point. The signal strenght jumped from very low to good. I believe this is due to the antenna design of the DLink PCI card. It is separate from the circuit card and connects with a 6' cable. This allows placement of the antenna on top of a computer desk hutch instead of on the back of the computer which may be on the floor.

I thought that if I upgraded the access point to a DLink I'd see another jump in signal strenght. I also wanted to pick up the 802.11g standard that my LinkSys access point was missing.

The upgrade from the LinkSys access point to the DLink did not provide any noticable improvement in signal quality. The signal strenght to the DLink PCI card was still only good. I did get 802.11g which helps with the business laptop I have but I was hoping for a little bit better signal strenght which was not found.

The firmware on the access point was old and I did have to download and apply an update. I had no problems doing this but have a lot of experience since I manage a network at work with over 200 802.11b access points (Symbol & Cisco).

Overall, I love the DLink PCI card (802.11a/b/g) and like the DLink access point. Being one of the cheap access points out I'd recommend it to any one looking for a wireless solution.

I use two of these on the 11a band as bridges between two wired networks. They are 30 feet apart and can see each other down a hallway with obstructions that nearly block the line of sight from both sides. I have both set on quarter power. The status indicates no errors on either direction.

The manual that came with the equipment leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, it did not say that WAP-PSK TKIP mode is not available for bridges, just access points.

I've been running 2 DWL-7100AP's 24/7 for 4 years and neither of them has so much as hiccupped. I had to call D-Link Support when I was initially setting them up in order to get them to communicate with my Linksys router, but Tech Support had them working in about 15 minutes. Since then, perfect. Last week I replaced the Linksys router with a new D-Link DIR-825 wireless router and had to call D-Link support because the 7100AP's would not connect to it. There was virtually no wait time whatsoever to get a tech person on the phone and all we needed to do was change the IP address in each of the access points. Over the years I've worked with many difference tech support organizations and feel that the D-Link support is the best that I have experienced - they have been informed, capable, patient and persistent. That's one of the reasons I chose a D-Link wireless router. My experience with Linksys Tech Support has not been good from any standpoint.

Good range and works well as an AP or AP client. On the other hand, the advertised WDS mode does not work, so if you are buying to string together multiple AP's, don't bother.

I used 2 of these to network between buildings. The buildings are 742 feet apart and these work great. No matter what the weather is, we have never lost the connection. I highly recommend this if you need a long reaching connection between buildings.

Firstly, this is a WAP, not a router. Secondly, for a cheap WAP, this works quite well. It is nice to finally have a WAP that can work with 802.11a/b/g all at once, and well I might add. For day-to-day use, I have one of these working as a repeater and it has not yet to fail me since I purchased the product months ago.

As with all such devices, I dislike the web interface, but it is useful (it is indeed stupid to believe the web interface will look good in the near future). I was able to configure this device quickly and effortlessly. Good purchase!

I've have had a variety of routers over the years and none were stable. I finally got fed up and decided to use a separate AP and router. I chose 7100AP for Wireless AP, and used my desktop as router+DHCP. I've had remarkable stability. In my apartment complex, which is chock full of wireless routers, I have never been able to get beyond a few weeks without having to reboot all-in-one routers. 7100AP on the other hand has been going strong for months! I practically turned it on and forgot about it. If you know the difference between an AP and a router, and want a solid simultaneous-dual-band router, this is the one. Very happy.

I'm not sure how the 7100 is supposed to work as a repeater but as an AP Client linked with the DI-784 it simply won't stay connected. I'm running the latest firmware on both devices,DWL-7100ap is running v2.00 and teh DI-784 is running v2.38. I've tried multiple configs for the encryption, different radio channels while the 2 devices are only sitting 2ft apart and it still won't keep a connection.

Tech support isn't helpful either, long hold times and operators that don't actually listen to the problem.

I can't reccomend this product, I think one star is still too many stars.

I purchased this D_link access point with the intention of using it in my home. Much to my surprise it did not come with a power supply. I though well I guess I missed it in the discription, it must have said without power supply. Well it does NOT say without power supply but I guess it does not say With power supply. But to me that is like going to pick up you new car and finding out it does not have tires on it, hmmmmm, well I guess the bill of sale for the car did not say anything about it having tires! So watchout who you buy from, I feel like I have been taken a bit on this one.