Configuring the DNS-6040M unit is all done via a simple web browser, basically the same way as the DSL-504 Router. Once we are by the initial welcome screen, you are prompted to enter a password for the system. You cannot enter a blank password (good thinking D-Link) so you better remember what you type in here as you won't have any other way of getting in here again unless you type in in or redo the whole configuration again from the beginning.

If you look at the right hand side of each screen you will see that there is a nice set of HINTS that explain what each section is all about. This is really a very handy feature that does come in useful during the initial installation. By default the DNS-6040M is called synofiler11, so you will want to change that to a name suitable for your own network.

As the configuration progresses most of the hard work is done by the unit itself. As you can see the DNS-6040M has picked up it's IP from our DSL-504 router, even inserting the default gateway as well. If you are unhappy about any way that the DNS-6040M has obtained the information you can use manual mode at any time to make any corrections.

One nice feature of the DNS-6040M is that any changes or events that are happening, the unit sends out an email to let you know what is happening. This is a really handy feature as it means you can be kept up to date on any changes that some other administrators may have performed, as well as the usual system/error events that may occur.

The screenshot below shows that all the configuration options can be accessed via the menus on the left hand side of the screen. In this initial configuration we installed the unit onto a very simple Windows Server 2003 setup and 5 PC's. Everything installed first time and continued to run perfectly, no matter how much data we threw at the unit.

While this all appears very good in a small scale network for a real test of it's capabilities we decided to see about attaching it to a live company network running 100 users and a variety of servers. What better way of seeing if this unit really is that simple to hook onto a live network with mission critical software running!!!