Dlink DAP2690 Review

1. Intro
2. Features
3. Setup
4. Wireless configuration
5. Throughput tests (Wireless/Wired)
6. Closing Notes

Intro: The Dlink DAP2690 is a enterprise level wireless access point that is  somewhat affordable for small to medium businesses, has lots of features and can tolerate a lot of heavy usage that enterprises require.

Features: The DAP2690 features the following:

Dual band 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz operation with 2 x2 MIMO connectivity at up to300Mbps

2 wired Gigabit LAN ports

4 2x2 mimo  5dBi  dual band internal SMA antennas with 21dBm output power for great wireless coverage and can also be upgraded for even better range.

Full VLAN configuration

Full and extremely detailed traffic shaping (QoS) and firewall controls

Fixed and DHCP client address assignments

Intrusion Protection Services

SNMP

And lots more

Setup:

1) Default SSID is dlink however you DO NOT connect to that. You must plug in to a router that has the 192.168.0.x subnet. It will NOT work to configure the URL with 192.168.0.50 default URL that D-Link tells you to. Both have to be in this subnet to configure! I tried attatching to my Meraki Z1 router and it would NOT show up as a connected device. Also for another thing, the d-link access point configures itself to an open SSID BY DEFAULT so if you connect this to your network be prepared to have leechers on you right away. It obtains internet access status immediately, exposing you! Not very good D-Link!

Let's take a look at the status page that tells us all our status.

Wireless Configuration:

Here’s the WLAN config screens:

The DAP2690 supports WPA/WPA2 and supports PSK and Enterprise authentication types that can be different for each SSID. Selecting “Enterprise” allows you to use D-Link Authentication, which allows you to define a username and password rather then a static key, allowing for more fine control over your wireless network. User based controls allow you to define limits PER USER so that if let’s say, they get fired, you just delete thier user account and not have to change the ENTIRE NETWORK’S encryption key.

Intrusion Protection:

The DAP2690 has wireless intrusion protection built in so you don’t have to worry about rogue APs, spoofs, etc. It will also protect against flood attacks, etc.

Here’s the config screens:

The intrusion protection has been tested and when I enabled it my phone/other devices could not connect to ANY of my other SSIDs besides the ones that are on the DAP2690. It worked well. I disabled the IPS features and the phone was able to connect to the other non-DAP2690 SSIDs. This is so people can’t bring rogue access points and it works.

Clustering feature:

The DAP also has something called “AP array” where you can cluster a few APs together and manage them as one

Throughput Tests: (Wireless)

I will be using LAN Speed test for the throughput tests and PRTG to generate the graphs. It also is a comprehensive enterprise level network monitoring software and it can record uptime, transfer rates, errors, etc.

Test environment: (Set 1)

Specs of Building: This is going through about 32 ft through 2 walls, a solid all-wood dresser, and a chimney. The room has plaster walls in some places.

Specs of server :(my machine in the same room as theDAP2690): Intel i5 3570K/16GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM/Nvidia Geforce 650Ti/Samsung 840 120GB SSD/Windows Server 2012 Standard/Realtek GBE NIC

Specs of client: (remote machine in other room): AGNXAndrakon/AMD Phenom 9650/4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM/Nvidia Geforce 650Ti/Samsung 840 120GB SSD/Windows Server 2012 Standard/Amped Wireless ACA1 USB WLAN connection:USB3 via a PCI-Express addon card.

5Ghz 802.11an mode: Channel 161 -76dBm

LAN speed test: 25 stream 6GB file: 12Mbytes/sec or 96Mbits/sec

2.4 GHz 802.11n mode: Channel 6 -69dBm

LAN speed test: 25 stream 6GB file: 5Mbytes/sec or 40Mbits/sec

Test environment: (Set 2)

Specs of Building Test Run 1: 16Ft away thru a wood door hallway right outside the office where the DAP2690 is located.

Specs of server (my machine in the same room as theDAP2690): Intel i5 3570K/16GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM/Nvidia Geforce 650Ti/Samsung 840 120GB SSD/Windows Server 2012 Standard/Realtek GBE NIC

Specs of client: HP2000-412NR/AMD E300/8GB DDR3 RAM/300 GB HDD/AMD RADEON 6310/Windows 7 x64 Home Premium/RalinkRT5390 WLAN

2.4 GHz 802.11n mode: Channel 11 -56dBm

LAN speed test: 25 stream 6GB file: 7Mbytes/sec or 56Mbits/sec

Test environment: (Set 3)

Specs of server :(my machine in the same room as theDAP2690): Intel i5 3570K/16GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM/Nvidia Geforce 650Ti/Samsung 840 120GB SSD/Windows Server 2012 Standard/Realtek GBE NIC

Specs of client (same room as the DAP2690): HP /Core 2 Duo/2GB DDR2 RAM/20GB HD/Intel GMA/Windows 7 x64 Home Premium/NETGEAR A6200 WiFi USB3.0 Adapter

5Ghz 802.11an mode: Channel 161 -72dBm

LAN speed test: 25 stream 6GB file: 11Mbytes/sec or 88Mbits/sec

2.4 GHz 802.11n mode: Channel 6 -74dBm

LAN speed test: 25 stream 6GB file: 5Mbytes/sec or 40Mbits/sec

Conclusion:

Pros:

Decent management software with lots of options

Decent coverage and throughput on 5Ghz

Cons:

No advanced client monitoring

Not so good 2.4Ghz throughput

No advanced logging/stats on website visits like Meraki does

Not very complete client info like Operating system, specs, etc. Very limited client details

Rating:  5/10

Recommended: mabye