Netgear DG834 (series)

Netgear DG834G v3

The DG834 series are popular ADSL modem router products from Netgear. The devices can be directly connected to the phone line and establish an ADSL broadband Internet connection to the ISP and share it among several computers via 802.3 Ethernet and (on many models) 802.11b/g wireless data links.

These devices are popular among ISPs as they provide an all in one solution (ADSL modem/router/firewall/switch), which is ideal for home broadband users. The Netgear UK website claims the DG834G is the most popular wireless router in the UK and lists five awards that it has received.^[1]

The DG834G is perhaps the most popular product of the series, and has been produced in 5 versions. All versions have Wi-Fi.

The DG834 (without the G suffix) is the same product but without Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi can be added later by plugging in a wireless access point although this then occupies one of the RJ45 ports.

The DG834GT is a similar product - it looks like a DG834G v2 or v3, but has a Broadcom chipset like a DG834G v4 and supports Atheros Super G which can achieve a 108 Mbit/s signaling rate (double that of standard 802.11g). In the United Kingdom, many DG834GT routers were supplied by Sky Broadband and are branded with a Sky logo. Sky later supplied a DG934G router, which is a DG834G v3 router in a black case.

The DG834PN model has Wi-Fi but no external antenna. It has 6 internal antennas, and is easily recognised by the blue dome on the top of its case.

Firmware

Netgear DG834G v4 rear plugs, in order: the RJ-11, the Ethernet switch (4 ports, from v3 is yellow coloured), the reset, the DC power plug, the 2.4GHz antenna

Netgear's stock firmware on all products in the series runs Linux. This has led to popularity among computer enthusiasts as it provides a cheaper alternative to a full Linux router. It is possible to place the router in a debug mode using http://192.168.0.1/setup.cgi?todo=debug^[2][3] which allows users to connect via telnet directly to its embedded Linux system which uses Busybox to provide some of the functionality. Much of the Netgear firmware is built from open-source software, and Netgear provide this source code ^[4] and the build system to enable users to reassemble a new firmware image. As a result, various individuals and projects have produced modified firmware which extend the capabilities of the built-in firmware. It is also possible to completely replace the built-in firmware for TI-AR7 and Broadcom chipsets with firmware from other projects, such as OpenWrt.^[5] All products except the DG834(G) v5 run on a MIPS architecture CPU, the DG834(G) v5 runs on an ARM architecture CPU.

Default settings

• IP address: 192.168.0.1
• Username: admin
• Password: password (Sky-branded units have a default password of sky)
• Function set to Router + Modem

Specifications

Netgear DG834G v1

• 4-port 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet switch
• Wireless Access Point (802.11b+g) (not on DG834 models)
• ADSL/ADSL2/ADSL2+ modem
• Firewall (as of DG834G v5 restricted to 20 rules)
• Router
• Can operate as modem only if function set to modem which will require an extra router for NAT.^{[citation needed]}

Differences between revisions/versions

DG834(G)

Netgear DG834G v4, in order: the power LED, the 4 Ethernet cable detection LEDs, the wireless power state and activity, the carrier wave LED (off/on) and the PPP LED (off, on, blinking when there's activity)

• DG834(G) v1: first release, known as v1 in retrospect. Grey case, larger than subsequent models. 15V AC power supply. TI-AR7 chipset (MIPS32 CPU), 16 MB of SDRAM, 4MB of flash memory. G versions have black removable antenna at the rear left, using an RP-SMA connector.
• DG834(G) v2: new smaller design in a white case. Different power supply requirements from v1, otherwise almost identical electrically (uses same firmware as v1). G versions have white removable antenna.
• DG834(G) v3:
  • RoHS-compliant construction.
  • Expands the Wireless encryption options to include:
    • WPA2-PSK(Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key)
    • WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK
    • WPA2-802.1x
    • WPA-802.1x+WPA2-802.1x
  • Adds an "Advanced Wireless Settings" page to the enable, various wireless Bridge and Repeater modes.
  • Removes the Parental control and Trend Micro Security Services functionality.
  • Add a PPPoE relay mode.
  • Improves Sync speeds, on good / short lines.
  • White removable antenna.
• DG834(G) v4: Fixed antenna on G versions. Now uses broadcom BCM6348 V0.7 chipset, also the Ethernet switch is now broadcom BCM5325 (before it was Marvell) and the wifi module is branded broadcom (before it was T.I.). Frontal connection LED split in 2: one for "carrier wave" connection, another for PPP link. The 4 Ethernet LEDs are now on the left of the front panel - all previous models had them to the right.
• DG834(G) v5 (aka DG834GNA for North America): G versions have the fixed antenna on the right (when viewed from front) - all previous models had antenna on the left. The antenna is attached to the board with a u-FL connector so an upgrade would be possible by somebody willing to void their warranty. Comes with additional buttons for power, Push 'n' Connect using Wi-Fi Protected Setup, and for switching the wireless radio on and off. Reset is achieved by holding in both side buttons simultaneously for about 6 seconds until power light flashes. The chipset used is a Conexant CX94610 which has an ARM CPU (all previous models used a MIPS CPU). Quality of Service was also added as a fully changeable feature which was available with firmware version 6.00.25 but with the newer firmware version 1.6.01.34 the Quality of Service and Wireless Distribution System is not available.^{[citation needed]}

DG834GT

Only one version produced. White case with a white removable antenna to the rear left of the unit which utilises an RP-SMA connector. N-spec MIMO functionality and inclusion of a Broadcom BCM6348 chipset make this model notable, particularly as the Broadcom chipset offers superior compatibility over the Texas Instruments AR7 chipset (used in the DG834G) with ADSL2+ / LLU lines in the UK, partly due to PSD masks applied at the DSLAM.

However it should be noted there is a possible issue with the above chipset when in use on BTW and LLU utilising ADSL 2+ MSAN's made by Huaweii.

References

1. ^ http://www.netgear.co.uk/wireless_adslrouter_dg834g.php
2. ^ Netgear DG834G telnet
3. ^ DG834G Embedded Linux
4. ^ Netgear's source code repository
5. ^ Netgear DG834GT

External links

• Official Netgear DG834G Information
• Netgear DG834G resources
• OpenDG834
• DGTeam unofficial custom firmware
• RouterStats, a monitoring and downstream noise margin tweaking program for DG834X modems

Modified firmware

• OpenWRT AR7 port (i.e. DG834(G) v1, v2, and v3) only
• RouterTech for AR7 chipsets (i.e. DG834(G) v1, v2, and v3) only
• DGTeam
• UberGT
• OpenDG834
• FreeDG