|
Almost all of the information which applies to the DSL-500 also applies to the DSL-504 and vice versa. The only significant difference is that the DSL-504 has an inbuilt 4 port 10/100 switch included in the same casing. Beware: The DSL-500G, DSL-504G and the DSL-504T are not compatible with the DSL-500 or DSL-504 series routers! The information on this site does not apply to the DSL-500G, DSL-504G nor to the DSL-504T. |
DSL-50X Utility for the DSL-500 and DSL-504 routersThe DSL-500 and DSL-504 have been superseded by the cheaper and less-featured
DSL-500G, DSL-504G and DSL-504T models.
eBay Australia sometimes has used DSL-500
and DSL-504 units for auction for a very low price (~$20-$30 April 2007). While the DSL-500 and
DSL-504 do not support ADSL2 or ADSL2+, they do support the full 8 Mbps of ADSL1.
The DSL-500 and DSL-504 ADSL routers are based on the GlobespanVirata
(a merger of GlobeSpan and Virata) Helium 210-80 Communication processor which is used
by a number of manufacturers of consumer ADSL equipment. GlobespanVirata provide reference
designs and a customisable operating system (ATMOS) to various OEMs, including Billion and
D-Link. The chipset itself is highly integrated, resulting in a low chip count. At the the
heart of the Helium chipset is the high-peformance dual ARM7 processor architecture (ie two
ARM CPUs are embedded in the chipset). This chipset is coupled with 2Mb of FLASH RAM
(two 1Mb AMD Am29LV800BA-90PFTN chips) with boot block protection
which contains the bootstrap code and compressed ATMOS image (this image is decompressed
into SDRAM at each boot). There is 16Mb of SDRAM used for the operating system image and
for workspace memory (eg NAT session tables which can hold 4096 entries).
An additional 2Mb of SDRAM is used by the Integrated Telecom eXpress Inc
(ITeX) ADSL DMT Transceiver/ATM Framer Digital Controller chip (i90135).
The final piece of the puzzle is the ITeX Analog Front-End chip
(i80234). These two chips make up the actual ADSL modem.
The DSL-504 also has an inbuilt switch is based on the Micrel
(formerly Kendin) KS8995 switch controller. The KS8995 contains
five 10/100 physical layer transceivers, five MAC (Media Access Control) units with an
integrated layer 2 switch. The controller is run in mode 2 as a five port switch with the
fifth port decoupled from the physical port and used as an interface to the network processor.
The KS8995 chip also includes: hardware-based 10/100, full- or half-duplex, flow control and
auto negotiation; full-duplex IEEE 802.3x flow control; half-duplex back pressure flow control;
wire speed reception and transmission; and unmanaged operation through strapping at system
reset time. Other elements of the 5-port 10/100 switch with PHY include: an integrated address
look-up engine that supports 1K absolute MAC address; automatic address learning, aging and
migration; broadcast storm protection; and LED support for link, activity, full/half-duplex
and speed.
Details for distinguishing between Generation-I and Generation-II hardware may be found
below.
As of January 2003, there are two different generations of DSL-500 and
DSL-504 hardware in the Australian/New Zealand and United Kingdom/European marketplaces.
The early second generation hardware could be easily identified because it abandoned the traditional
9-pin serial port for
the console connector in favour of a more obscure RJ12 socket (which also needs a hardware
gizmo that is supplied only to selected distributors/large ISPs) and a recessed "reset button"
at the back of the router. More recent second generation hardware also has
this badge on
the front of the case beneath the model designation proclaiming it is "Generation-II".
(Note: More recent Generation-II routers have reverted to the conventional
9-pin serial port and no reset button.) In general, Generation-I includes the DSL-500 Ver.C2
and DSL-504 Ver.A2, while Generation-II includes the DSL-500 Ver.D1 and DSL-504 Ver.B1 and B2.
You can find the version number on the label underneath the case.
Please Help: If your firmware version is not listed
below, or you have any new issues or observations which may help someone else, please email me
with the full firmware version, firmware date, model of your router (DSL-500 or DSL-504),
generation of your router (ie I or II) and any other information you have so that I can add it
to these notes. Thanks in advance!
[TCP_christmas] Explanation: A TCP endpoint sent a SYN packet that included the RST flag (a nonsensical combination). The term "Christmas packet" has been used in this context (particularly if other flags are set, too) because the packet's flags are "lit up like a Christmas tree". Source: www.icir.org.
Work-around for Paranoia: Setup a DMZ using an unused IP address in your
network for the DMZIP. If you are using your router for PPTP, then the DMZ fix will prevent
it working in that situation. The alternative method is to port forward your
high ports 60000+ to an unused IP address in your network. I have had feedback from several
users that both my suggestions successfully work-around the problem. D-Link started
recommending this method too :) Of course, the best fix now is to upgrade your firmware to a
version which no longer suffers from the problem.
As of January 2003, there are two different generations of DSL-500 and
DSL-504 hardware in the Australian and United Kingdom marketplaces. So be careful that you
obtain the correct firmware to update your particular version of the hardware. For a short
period of time, early second generation hardware abandoned the traditional 9-pin serial port
for the console connector in favour of a more obscure RJ12 (not RJ14 as claimed by D-Link)
socket which also required a hardware "gizmo" that D-Link only made available to some larger
ISPs. Later Gen-II routers are again appearing with the traditional 9-pin serial port.
In general, Generation-I includes the DSL-500 Ver.C2 and DSL-504 Ver.A2, while Generation-II includes the DSL-500 Ver.D1 and DSL-504 Ver.B1 and B2. You can find the Version number on the label under the case.
Beware downgrading to v1.14: This requires a special version of the v1.14 firmware otherwise you will render your router inoperable ... guaranteed. There is no known reason to downgrade to v1.14, so do not do it!
Warning: Upgrading your firmware is a risky process which is not for the faint of heart - you may render your router inoperable and you may have to return it to D-Link for repair. Techno-geeks and mad hobbyists who like to live dangerously ignore such warnings often at their peril :-)
Somewhat outdated feature comparison table which compared most popular combination ADSL modem/routers available in Australia from
Billion, D-Link, DrayTek, Netcomm, Netgear and Web Excel during early 2003 through to mid-2004.
D-Link product information
Technical description
D-Link manuals
Generation-I hardware
Generation-II hardware
Notes on Australian/NZ/UK/European firmware versions
Generation-I Hardware
which can result in, for example, IRC being disconnected.
The log message reads: Be Attacked:CHRISMAS_ATTACK-TCP_CHRISMAS,source:203.26.51.42.
Yes, that IP address resolves to www.smh.com.au (The Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper :-)
Generation-II Hardware
[FIREWALL]Up XX mins XX secs-WinNuke:TCP_URG,src:ip:218.XX.XX.XX,dst:port:135.
Firmware upgrade/downgrade information
Configuration information
Command Line Interface (CLI) information
Feature comparison table
Privacy Policy
Important Disclaimer
