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Draytek v D-Link

glloyd
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Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Draytek v D-Link

For many years I have always used Draytek routers believing them to be the best. Last week I set up a DLINK-DSL-2640B I bought for a relative at home and low and behold it synced at over 1.5Meg faster than my Vigor 2800g. Thinking it maybe a fluke I tried the Vigor again and it connected 2 Meg slower this time.
Where as the Vigor syncs at different speeds the D-Link always syncs at the same speed. Just goes to show the dearer is not always the best.
12 REPLIES 12
MrC
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

In my experience Draytek DSL performance is poor (in terms of sync rate against attenuation/SNR margin) when compared against, well, just about anything else  Smiley The WLAN performance isn't anything to write home about either.  Unless you really need some of the functionality these offer I'd not recommend them and I struggle to understand why some people are still paying silly money for 2800s on Ebay.
Personally if I needed a Draytek on a DSL line I'd get one with an ethernet WAN port and use a cheapo broadcom based DSL modem or a modem/router in bridge mode.
Mike
deadkenny
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

Can't knock my 2700V. Syncs better than previous cheaper brands I've used. Not on ADSL2+ yet though, but plain old ADSL I'm actually syncing at 7mbps and getting 6 as my actual speed from Plus. Not bad considering I'm not next door to the exchange.
I have a flaky connection on occasion  that comes and goes (can go for months without an issue) but that's been the same with any router. It's an issue with my line and I still feel it's weather related (having an overhead phone line I still think is the cause).
One thing though, have you updated the firmware on the Vigor? Unlike a lot of big name brands, they do update the firmware reasonably regularly, even on old models. Some big names won't bother at all and make you buy new models.
But really for me the important thing with the Vigor is the capability of the router compared to others. It's not the only half decent router out there though.
Of course my opinion may change when or if I get ADSL2+.
MrC
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

I've tested a 2800vg against models from Zyxel, Thomson, D-Link and Netgear on 2 lines. One with a 52db attenuation, the other with 15db. The Draytek had the worst sync rate of all on each line, and was no better in terms of reliability. It wouldn't (doesn't  Undecided ) even sync at 8128 on the low loss line. This was with ADSL; once the low loss line gets switched to ADSL2+ I'll be testing again to see how it compares.
I also discovered a number of simply annoying bugs and quirks with the Draytek. One example: I used the gui to assign fixed DNS servers to be allocated to LAN clients via DHCP. After a bit of testing I found this was being ignored and I then found I had to issue a 'srv dhcp frcdnsmanl on' via the cli to make it work.
This was all with the 2.8.2 firmware.
They do have some nice touches (and I do use one) but for simple DSL home use (eg not using functionality like VOIP, VPNs, 3G failover  and advanced remote management) they're a bit too low on basic performance for the price premium. Even if you do want that functionality, companies like Billion have comparable models at a lower price.
Mike
glloyd
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

I must confess I did not notice any problem with the Vigor until I changed to ADSL 2+. The sync speeds were all over the place ranging from about 9 Meg to 11 Meg but never syncing the same speed twice. Where as the D-Link syncs at the same speed each time and at over 12.5 Meg.
As for firmware updates, there has not been and update for a very long time.
deadkenny
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Registered: ‎13-09-2007

Re: Draytek v D-Link

The DNS implmentation on Draytek is pretty bad.
I did get an admission out of them that it's just a basic DNS cache though. It's not designed to actually act like a local DNS which is what you'd expect it to be able to do. Had a Westell that was quite good for that, but it was rubbish in other ways and finally broke.
I use a DNS server on my media server instead now. Had tried the DNS provisioning to clients via DHCP on the Draytek, I think using the same or similar commands but never got it to work. So now I do DHCP on the media server also. Only drawback is if that server goes down or I reboot it, I lose DNS, local or external (unless I go round configuring clients to pick up PlusNet's DNS instead, but then local DNS doesn't work).
Anyway, as I say, I'll see with ADSL2+. The 2700 series is a little different to the 2800 series with different bugs.
Originally I steered clear of the likes of D-Link due to poor reviews, and especially limited configurability. It was in the end a tie between Zyxel and Draytek. I seem to recall the Zyxel had some limitation at the time that made me go for the Draytek instead (plus the VoIP was an attraction, though really it's fairly useless for me being a SIP -> PSTN adapter basically and what with modern Nokia N series phones having integrated SIP built in).
MrC
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

Quote from: deadkenny
Anyway, as I say, I'll see with ADSL2+. The 2700 series is a little different to the 2800 series with different bugs.

I for one will be interested to see how your 2700 performs - any chance you can post an update when you get ADSL2+?
Re: the Zyxels - I've been fairly happy with the three I've experience of (P660H-61, P660HW-t1, P662HW-d1). Being AR-7 based their DSL performance isn't quite as good as Broadcom based kit but overall they've been sterling performers and the P662 is my current home router. One advantage is that they're cheap to buy 2nd hand and, If a cheap P2602HWL comes up on Ebay, I might be tempted to get myself some VOIP functionality  Roll_eyes
Mike
deadkenny
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

Quote from: MrC
I for one will be interested to see how your 2700 performs - any chance you can post an update when you get ADSL2+?

Will try and remember. No idea how far down in the queue I am for the trial though.
glloyd
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

This maybe of interest of anyone using a Vigor 2800. This is from Draytek support today.

Hello,
Thanks  for  the  email.From  the information you have given about the
firmware  that  you  have  got the latest on a router.This firmware is
also  available  with  different modem codes(adsl firmwares)to rectify
sync/speed  issues.As  different  DSLAMs  use  different  parameters to
connect.
I  would  suggest  to  try E.67.02.55 first then downgrade to .02.52 &
.02.40 if it doesn't help. http://www.draytek.com/user/SupportDownloadsDetail.php?action=Load&MID=11&ID=16
Only use ANNEX A firmwares with modem codes i mentioned
deadkenny
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Registered: ‎13-09-2007

Re: Draytek v D-Link

Thanks for the link. I always forget about the US site.
Looks like the 2700 firmware files are different. I believe I have the current UK version of Annex A but whether that's reliable for ADSL2+ is another matter. Will just have to see.
Have to say when I've contacted their support they seem fairly helpful. They've also fixed things I've reported, even if it's taken a little while. Can't say that about some big name companies, where if you have a problem it needs to be seen on a big enough percentage of customers to make it worthwhile to fix, and even then if your model isn't a current one they're not interested at all.
Doesn't always get a fix though. The DNS issues is an example. I think basically because the fix is to implement proper DNS, so it's a feature change rather than a bug fix.
glloyd
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

Trying the different versions of the firmware only made things worse BUT their latest suggestion of telneting into the router and entering "adsl codinggain 8" improve the sync speed by 3/4 Meg.
Bojangles
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Registered: ‎24-08-2007

Re: Draytek v D-Link

What firmware were you using when you changed the codinggain?
glloyd
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Re: Draytek v D-Link

Firmware version 2.8.2 E:38.2.23 Annexa