D-Link DIR-857 HD Media Router 3000

[runun]

I found this router on Amazon for just a hair over $150. After seeing the review for the DIR-827 Media Router 2000, I suggested to my father that he get it. He found it at Amazon this past Saturday the 9th for a little over $150 (same price the DIR-857 is today). I just happened to do a google search for the DIR-857 and a link to Amazon popped up. The DIR-857 has been on back order for some time now. It almost seems like some sort of glitch, since the DIR-827 cannot be found on Amazon for less than $227 and has very low stock, whereas the 857 is well stocked and the same price the 827 was only three days ago. Also, the high price was one of the major complaints Tim Higgins had about the DIR-827 and here is the DIR-857 nearly $40 below retail (MSRP for the 857 is $189). It actually can be found around $140 but shipping brings it to or just above $150. I should have it before Christmas and will report on what I end up getting and how it performs. FYI, I'm into D-Link routers for their excellent QoS, so my review of it will be primarily about that. I've got Ooma for my VoIP setup, so I'll simultaneously flood my upload bandwidth, stream Hulu and make a bunch of phone calls and see how it goes.

 

[Shikami]

I would really like to hear from you and know if it is the 827 or really the 857. I ordered the 827 after reading the review here, and will be actually receiving it today. But I am skeptical about the 857 being available because not even Newegg nor any other seller has it for as of now. I looked on the some of the vendor's website for the product and it is not listed. I am going to call some and check with them. Because if I can get the 857 for the same price as the 827 why not!

The router cost me $144. So, I am also a bit shocked that the price increased to that amount. I think that is due to the vendors, not Amazon's price. Which is who I did purchase it from.

Edit: Here is an interesting story. The 827 is not listed through Amazon anymore. Only through one vendor that has it in stock, and when I click on my 827 purchase via account menu it takes me to the 857 router instead. I think that there is an error and what is listed will be, actually, the 827.

BTW, I am speculating that the 857 will be different with only the radios (The AR9382 used in the 827 is only 2 stream) and antennas used of course. I think the processor will remain at same clock speed, still will use a Gen 1 switch with daughterboard containing both radios. However, they may do it entirely different. As in higher clock processor with a possible second PCIe physical, or PCIe Gen2 switch (doubt it), or different layout using the 2 possible PCIe physicals for two independent connections to the radios. But that would be expensive and thermally costly I do believe.

 

[Shikami]

I just had a chance to speak to one of the vendors and he believes that the 857 is a mistake because they have no listing of it. So, I think you may be receiving a DIR-827 instead.

 

[thiggins]

I just verified with D-Link that Amazon has listed the DIR-857 by mistake. You're going to get a DIR-827.

According to D-Link, the DIR-857 won't ship until Feb 2012.

 

[runun]

Yeah, I got the DIR-827. I even tried to deny the package but missed the UPS guy. I have to wait a bit now for the RMA process.

 

[Shikami]

The 827 is not that bad of a router. You may want to consider giving it a chance. At least this testing may help you consider what the 857 will be like for you.

 

[runun]

Well, I agree that the DIR-827 would be very suitable for me. I mean the QoS is why I am after a D-Link, otherwise I'd get any other high end router. However, since 3-stream has been out for a little while now, I'd rather have a 3-stream capable router. In any case, I can't open up the DIR-827 they sent me and test it, since I'd take a hit on a re-stocking fee then. Leaving it all wrapped up and going through the Amazon RMA process will ensure zero cost to return ship and a full refund. Right now the much older DIR-655 would even be fine for me, since I don't have any need for a wireless signal, but I know I'm going to be investing in a laptop soon and I'll get a 3-stream adapter for it if it doesn't come with one. Like I said, the most important function for me is QoS (which only D-Link does right in SOHO routers), secondly is port forwarding for my NAS (any router can do this), and third is 3-stream capability. I wish some other manufacturer offered a SOHO wireless router with a good automatic QoS engine like D-Link, because D-Link is soooo slow with releasing their routers. I mean the V2 of the Linksys E4200 has already been released, whereas D-Link showed us their Amplifi lineup at last years E3 (January 2011), and won't even release the DIR-857 until February 2012 at the soonest. I've waited this long, so I guess I can wait a little longer.

 

[RogerSC]

Just a quick note, when I returned an Asus rt-n56u router to Amazon after trying it out and seeing that it wasn't what I was looking for, I got a full refund, no restocking fee. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this was just earlier this year.

 

[thiggins]

Just a quick note, when I returned an Asus rt-n56u router to Amazon after trying it out and seeing that it wasn't what I was looking for, I got a full refund, no restocking fee. Your mileage may vary, of course, but this was just earlier this year.

That has been my experience with Amazon. No restock fee (assuming everything is returned and packed nicely). And many times they even refund the original shipping charges.

 

[zzzrabbit]

Well, I agree that the DIR-827 would be very suitable for me. I mean the QoS is why I am after a D-Link, otherwise I'd get any other high end router. However, since 3-stream has been out for a little while now, I'd rather have a 3-stream capable router. In any case, I can't open up the DIR-827 they sent me and test it, since I'd take a hit on a re-stocking fee then. Leaving it all wrapped up and going through the Amazon RMA process will ensure zero cost to return ship and a full refund. Right now the much older DIR-655 would even be fine for me, since I don't have any need for a wireless signal, but I know I'm going to be investing in a laptop soon and I'll get a 3-stream adapter for it if it doesn't come with one. Like I said, the most important function for me is QoS (which only D-Link does right in SOHO routers), secondly is port forwarding for my NAS (any router can do this), and third is 3-stream capability. I wish some other manufacturer offered a SOHO wireless router with a good automatic QoS engine like D-Link, because D-Link is soooo slow with releasing their routers. I mean the V2 of the Linksys E4200 has already been released, whereas D-Link showed us their Amplifi lineup at last years E3 (January 2011), and won't even release the DIR-857 until February 2012 at the soonest. I've waited this long, so I guess I can wait a little longer.

Ok, I'm a total novice and need to replace a Netgear WGR614 router (old).
I am curious why you feel the QoS app that d-link supplies is superior to others?

And what does 3-stream capability do for the avg. home office user with one hardwired desktop and 4 wireless laptops and a printer?

Thanks and hello to everyone!

 

[thiggins]

I am curious why you feel the QoS app that d-link supplies is superior to others?

And what does 3-stream capability do for the avg. home office user with one hardwired desktop and 4 wireless laptops and a printer?

Three stream N offers no advantage over dual-stream unless you have a three-stream adapter. Then you can get a bit higher speed, but only with very strong signal (same or next room).

Ubicom-based routers have automatic uplink QoS, which do a good job of automatically prioritizing time-sensitive traffic like streaming and gaming.

 

[runun]

Well said Mr. Higgins. I was just about to reply to the noob questions about D-Link QoS and 3-stream, but then noticed there was a 2nd page of comments. FYI, try to stay away from 3rd party Amazon retailers in the Amazon Marketplace. I don't want to make a negative blanket statement about all of them, but my experience when dealing directly with Amazon has been stellar. Now, I'm dealing with an unnamed 3rd party and the entire experience has been utterly terrible. I know I bought this around Christmas but the communication has been so ridiculous from dealing with shipping headaches to now having had the wrong router for 2 weeks and still no response to my return request. I sent a message to Amazon earlier today to see if getting them involved will speed things along.

 

[sfx2000]

the most important function for me is QoS (which only D-Link does right in SOHO routers)

Kinda puzzled on this statement - QoS tagging is end-to-end, and needs to be done at the ethernet frame level - most current SOHO routers have this enabled by default these days as part of WMM.

If your app doesn't tag the frames with QoS, then you have none... if you're streaming across the internet, likely you won't have QoS anyways

The 827 is a good router...

 

[Shikami]

Kinda puzzled on this statement - QoS tagging is end-to-end, and needs to be done at the ethernet frame level - most current SOHO routers have this enabled by default these days as part of WMM.

It can be confusing but there are many different forms of QoS. It can be at layer 7 and be in the form of traffic shaping. It does not always have to be layer 2. IIRC, the StreamEngine is layer 7 with DPI. Basically, taking a qualified packet in memory and placing it in queue to be TX before a packet that is not as latency sensitive. If need be the QoS engine can fragment a larger TCP packet to place within the fragmentation a latency sensitive packet.

 

[sfx2000]

It can be confusing but there are many different forms of QoS. It can be at layer 7 and be in the form of traffic shaping. It does not always have to be layer 2. IIRC, the StreamEngine is layer 7 with DPI. Basically, taking a qualified packet in memory and placing it in queue to be TX before a packet that is not as latency sensitive. If need be the QoS engine can fragment a larger TCP packet to place within the fragmentation a latency sensitive packet.

Sounds reasonable - it's probably better then to refer to it as traffic shaping -

QoS is very specific...

 

[rhombus]

Sounds reasonable - it's probably better then to refer to it as traffic shaping -

QoS is very specific...

Huh? No wonder you're puzzled.

Sometimes he barks up the wrong ones, but Shikami knows his trees.

 

[Shikami]

Sounds reasonable - it's probably better then to refer to it as traffic shaping -

QoS is very specific...

I agree with your thinking, and it is referred to as traffic shaping. But QoS is not defined as a standard; it is defined by a technique. There are standards used to implement QoS, such as IEEE 802.1p. Which did cause the Ethernet frame to be modified to a larger size for the ability to include Q tagging (q.v. 802.3ac) for networks.

It can seem messy, but wait till you get to Layer 8! Just remember that QoS is not specific. What is used to control congestion is.

 

[sfx2000]

Hehe, no doubt - that's entirely another discussion about QoS, 802.1p tagging, DiffServ at the IP layer, classes of service and policy controls

BTW - StreamEngine has nothing to do with D-Link, it's a Ubicom design/implementation...

 

[runun]

Yes, I know it's all down to the Ubicom chipset to handle the QoS or traffic shaping. My statement about D-Link being the only SOHO networking provider to do proper QoS was ultimately directed as a comparison between the other major players like Netgear or Linksys using Broadcom or Ralink chipsets. I'm only considering getting a router from a major company to alleviate my concerns over firmware updates, otherwise I'd be getting a Ubicom router. Also, I'm attracted to the latest D-Link models because of their looks.

 

[sfx2000]

Yes, I know it's all down to the Ubicom chipset to handle the QoS or traffic shaping. My statement about D-Link being the only SOHO networking provider to do proper QoS was ultimately directed as a comparison between the other major players like Netgear or Linksys using Broadcom or Ralink chipsets. I'm only considering getting a router from a major company to alleviate my concerns over firmware updates, otherwise I'd be getting a Ubicom router. Also, I'm attracted to the latest D-Link models because of their looks.

It's all good at the end of the day - I looked at ubicom, Broadcom, Atheros, and Marvell when I did some design work back in '08 - all were good - ended up using Marvell due to ease of implementation and their board support package (core OS support) on a specific application.

The Marvell, as a discrete CPU, had two GIGe ports, and the BSP was current enough at the time to support all the Wimax provisioning applications that the customer needed...

Only reasons at the time that I didn't choose ubicom was $$$ and their BSP at the time wasn't as mature for linux.

D-Link has had a good relationship with ubicom, and the products are good...