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D-Link DFL-CPG310 Review: Decent UTM, Funky VPN

Doug Reid

September 21, 2007

Introduction

D-Link DFL-CPG310

At a Glance
Product	D-Link NetDefend Firewall/VPN Security Appliance (DFL-CPG310)
Summary	UTM/VPN Firewall appliance OEM'd from CheckPoint with subscription web filtering and Antivirus.
Pros	• Good stability in real world test • Quick setup • Compact size • Good comparative throughput for a UTM device
Cons	• No gigabit support • VPN Client not Vista ready • Significant problems with VPN gateway connection • Confusing NAT/VPN Client settings

The DFL-CPG310 is a small footprint offering in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) market from D-Link. At just 8" long, 5" wide, and a little over 1" high, it's pretty compact. Even its wireless antennas seem small, measuring just 3".

As with other UTM devices, small size does not imply few features. D-Link's DFL-CPG310 is an option-filled network control product providing Firewall functionality, Client and Site-to-Site VPN connectivity, Antivirus Protection, Intrusion Detection and Protection (IDS/IPS), Web Filtering, and Network Reporting, all in addition to being a multi-WAN gateway router, wireless access point, and USB print server.

The security features use CheckPoint/Sofaware technology. Essentially, the DFL-CPG310 is a UTM appliance OEM'd from CheckPoint. A quick look at CheckPoint's web page shows the DFL-CPG310 has a striking resemblance to CheckPoint's VPN-1 UTM Edge. If you look closely, you can see the CheckPoint logo on the front of the D-Link in Figure 1.

Visually, you can tell this isn't the typical home network D-Link product. Instead of the familiar colorful and rounded D-Link chassis, this product is a compact rectangular gray box with simple indicator lights on the front and ports on the back; see Figures 1 and 2 below.

Front view

Figure 1: Front of the D-Link DFL-CPG310

Rear view

Figure 2: Rear of the D-Link DFL-CPG310

Taking a look at the motherboard shows that there are a few other companies involved in this product. In Figure 3, we can see the VIA VT6212L chip that is the USB 2.0 controller. In the center is a clearly labeled Gigabyte card providing the wireless control, with the passively cooled CPU just to the right. The DFL-CPG310 CPU is a Cavium model from their line of Brecis Secure Processing solutions running along with 64MB of RAM.

Figure 3: View of the mainboard

With components from D-Link, VIA, Gigabyte, Cavium, Check Point, and Sofaware, the DFL-CPG310 is quite the collaborative product. With all these players identified, let's get into its functionality.

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