The D-Link Xtreme N family of products provide Draft 802.11n wireless connectivity between computers and routers in home or small office environments. According to the vendor, Draft 802.11n provides up to 14 times the performance and 6 times the range of Wireless G gear; numbers that are based on comparisons of the vendor's existing standard Wireless G offerings to draft 802.11n specifications and do not take into account such variables as network conditions, environmental factors, building material, etc.

Features common to the product line include support for WEP (64/128), WPA, and WPA2 security; backwards compatibility with 802.11b/g; and QoS technology that analyzes, separates, and categorizes traffic into multiple data streams, enabling sensitive applications such as VoIP and video to receive higher transmission priorities. Each of the routers and PC adapters additionally feature three element external antennas; while the notebook adapters each contain a trio of internal antennas.

Products in the Xtreme N line include routers, adapters, and an external extension antenna.

The routers include the Xtreme N Gigabit Router (DIR-655), with an included 4 port 10/100/1000 switch and support for Windows XP(sp2) or Mac OS X 10.4; and the DIR-855, which sports dual radios (2.4 and 5.8GHz) and also has Gigabit Ethernet ports. The DIR-855 is listed on the D-Link site as "coming soon." Both routers include 3 external antennas.

Desktop adapters include the DWA-556 PCI Express adapter, and the DWA-552; a standard PCI 32 bit card for desktop computers. Each of these also includes 3 antennas.

Portable (notebook) adapters include the DWA-643 ExpressCard/34 adapter, and the DWA-652 32-bit Cardbus adapter. Both the desktop and notebook adapters are compatible with Windows 2000/XP.

Finally, an external extension antenna set is available for the DIR 655 router and/or the DWA-552 adapter.

All but the DIR-855 dual band router are available now; pricing ranges from $119.99 (notebook adapters) to $179.99 (DIR-655), with the extension antenna listing for $35.99.

Contact D-Link for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

E-Mail this page to a colleague
send info about Xtreme N

Suggest a link
for the Xtreme N fact sheet