The DG834 series are popular ADSL modem router products from Netgear. The devices can be directly connected to a 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.[1] The Netgear UK website claims the DG834G is the most popular wireless router in the UK and lists five awards that it has received.[2]
The DG834G is perhaps the most popular product of the series, and has been produced in five 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 DG834 GB is similar to DG834GT, have Broadcom chipset, but support only 54 Mbit/s wifi. It has modifications to support Annex-B ADSL.
The DG834PN model has Wi-Fi but no external antenna. It has six internal antennas, and is easily recognised by the blue dome on the top of its case.
The DG834GSP model is locked to a particular ISP.
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 Linux router. Much of the Netgear firmware is built from open-source software, and Netgear provide this source code [3] 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.[4] All products except the DG834(G) v5 run on a MIPS architecture CPU, the DG834(G) v5 runs on an ARM architecture CPU.
Any person who can access the router using a web browser, can enable "debug" mode using [IP_ADDR]/setup.cgi?todo=debug
and then connect via Telnet directly to the router's embedded Linux system as 'root', which gives unfettered access to the router's operating system via its Busybox functionality.[5][6] Additionally, a 'hidden' URL [IP_ADDR]/setup.cgi?todo=ping_test
also allows unfettered access (On a v5 model a username and password are requested). There is no user option provided to disable this. On default Netgear firmware Telnet access lacks password or other control; on ISP modified versions (such as Sky) a Telnet password exists based on the MAC address which can be found via online websites.
Only one version produced. White case with a white removable antenna to the rear left of the unit which utilises an RP-SMA connector. 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 v1-3) with ADSL2+ / LLU lines in the UK, partly due to power spectrum density (PSD) masks applied at the DSLAM.
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