Wireless-G VPN Broadband Router for Boingo, 802.11g
1 Another Unhappy User
Setting up the router (replacing a BEFW11S4, which worked great) wasn't difficult, but it ended up disabling my outbound VPN which worked fine with the previous linksys router. After a few hours of net research, I finally found another reference to a "linksys Nightmare" that suggested forwarding UDP ports 500 and 4500, and TCP ports 50, 389, 709, and 5080. This resolved the problem and I thought I was golden. Sadly, I was never able to get the router to act as a VPN server, even using the Linksys QuickVPN client.
Two days later, the router stopped issuing DHCP addresses and even rejected administration login via 192.168.1.1 (the router internal address). Resetting the router fixed the problem, but two days later the same thing happened again. And two days later, again. I contacted their technical support using their online chat applet and she seemed remarkably dim (she had to ask me twice during our conversation which model number I had, even though it was in the original contact dialog info and recorded in our chat). Ultimately, her response was "it must be defective - return it to where you bought it for an exchange". That's when I decided to go out and read the reviews of this model (sadly, I trusted Linksys and hadn't bothered to do my research this time earlier) only to discover that this is a VERY common problem. Time to give Netgear a try.
2 Nice idea spoiled by bad software
I previously used a WRT54G for my wireless devices and a BEFVP41 for VPN connectivity, but couldn't get them to do what I needed for broadcasts between the two LANs, so the WRV54G looked like just what I needed. When it's working, it does what I need, but I don't need the frequent partial or complete crashes. I have the rev. 2 hardware and the latest firmware, and have done everything that Linksys has suggested to fix the crashing, but still have to reboot it about once a week.
On top of the crashing, there's little annoyances like pulldowns items in menus that don't save values right, and an external log viewer that crashes regularly and runs only on Windoze.
I wish I'd just kept the BEFVP41 and gotten a plain access point like the WAP54G to do the same job and saved the hassles. I still hold out some hope that Cisco will update the firmware and fix many of the reliability issues, but I can't recommend the WRV54G before they do. The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because with a firmware fix it could still be a nice box.
3 WRV54G and Linksys support nightmare
I have been a compulsive buyer of every single Linksys product. Some months ago I also acquired the WRV54G despite the bad reviews posted on the Internet.
Not a single month goes by without having to reboot it due to varous types of crashes that disable the entire network. First the wireless links become unstable, then the router doesn't work for the wired network and finally it is dead, not even the configuration page is accesible anymore. With regards to the VPN feature, it works well IF you don't use the 192.168 and change it to 10.x, which, unfortunatelly I can't do due to some software which license doesn't allow me to change its ip or my coporate lan, which firewall forces me to use 192.168. But remember that even if you are pleased for its functionality it will crash anyway ones or twice per month.
Summing up, a huge dissapointment, a piece of electronic trash and the new format of the box doesn't fit the previous format that linksys used to have. Too expensive for nothing, I'm going back to the WRT54G and wait for a decent firmware which, after waiting for almost 8 months looks like they will discontinue it before ever fixing the issues (perhaps its a hardware issue!).
By the way, don't even waste your time calling the horrendous Linksys "customer support", they know less than you do and they will make sure to waste as much as possible of your time without any type of help.
4 Pleased
I purchased this item to start my wireless network. This was pretty easy to setup and use. The only complaint I have is the VPN setup is not very intuitive and there isn't a lot of documentation for it. I have yet to use it, but that is ok. It's other features suit me well. All in all I recommend. I have this and a 5 port switch wireless bridge from linksys also. Together they work great. I have full connectivity upstairs.
5 DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!
I fell victim to the "how bad can it really be" statement and boy did I get burned. This is by far the worst piece of networking equipment that I have ever touched. I have been in the business 8 years, I am an MCSE in NT and Win2k as well as a CCNA. I say that only to state that I know how to setup networks and this POS box wouldn't even allow a consistent internet connection. Plus, like any good tech, you setup the network then and only then try to add the VPN. Well as soon as you turn on the VPN access in this router the machine completely changes it's local network settings. Do not buy this. Find something else. I'm going to get a firwall/VPN unit then try and add the wireless later. By the way, the tech support was horrible. I actually had to teach them things about networking, which means that they were useless for me.
6 I should have believed all of the other reviews
I couldn't imagine that a linksys product was as bad as everyone was saying. I bought it anyway and now I don't have to imagine.
It has problems. It crashes when I try to set the time zone. It crashes frequently!
7 Too many bugs
I have bought several routers in the past, 3Com, Buffalo, and a few others. This is the first and probably the last Linksys. the firmwear that came with the router was unusable. Upgrading to the latest improved things a lot. I can get most things working now. WPA works, the VPN works mostly. UPnP works OK.
On the down side you can't mix WEP and WPA which you can on my other routers, also you can't allocate fixed DHCP to partcular MAC adresses, you have to allocate the machines a fixed IP address, not possible on our laptops.
Worst of all, is that we can crash the router from the Internet side with our development software! (It doesn't crash our other routers). This is in the current Firmware revision. This is unforgivable. Avoid!
8 Nightmare Product from Hell
This product has many great documented features, but it doesn't deliver anything but grief as nothing hardly works. My dreams and aspirations were crushed as I became frustrated with the bugs, quirks, and general lack of functionality. Here are some of the many quirks I came across.
--- wan dhcp client broken as it gets invalid addresses
--- wireless overall unstable - disconnects for unknown reasons
--- non-tcp protocols cannot route between wireless and lan (problems for mac os 9 w/ appletalk)
--- sometimes my own dhcp server wouldn't work across wifi and lan lines.
--- security features causes problems
------- mac filtering made some clients wifi cards not work w/ router
------- WEP would make other clients wifi cards not work w/ router
--- routing features don't work for Internet access, e.g. if you have subnet of 2 (192.168.2.0/28), all computers on that subnet cannot access internet. Problem with router's NAT facility.
--- routing cannot support classless routing, e.g. 192.168.1.32/27. And because you CAN ONLY NAT out from 192.168.1.x type of addresses, routing feature is 100% useless.
Essentially, I have to find creative strategies around the many flaws of this device. The scary part is that I cannot secure the wi-fi network, which allows neighbors to snoop around or clog our bandwidth.
UPDATE: Called their tech support about their routing problems. We couldn't reach level 2 technical support because they were so busy, so he told me to e-mail support. I did, and after a week, I have heard nothing from them.
9 Product Seems To Work Fine For Me
After reading all the negative feedback I was very hesitant to purchase this device. I researched other manufacturer's VPN devices but I decided to purchase it anyway based on my previous experiences with Linksys.
I've had it running for a week and all seems well. I did upgrade the firmware to 2.36 as soon as I got it running.
I have successfully created client connections with the help of the very comprehensive FAQ area on their website. My next step is to purchase another one and setup a site to site tunnel.
One unexpected gain was the performance increase over my previous WRT54G. I have not experienced any of the problems reported by the other reviewers.
I will update my review if I notice any degredation in performance or functionallity, but I think this is a very good device and would recommend it to anyone looking to setup VPN access to their small networks.
10 Worthless piece of junk
I got this router because of its advertised VPN capability. But I discovered that it is completely worthless. The wireless access point cannot maintain connectivity with any client--XP, Linux or Mac OS X--for more than 90 minutes. It will not make a VPN connection. After spending 7 hours on the phone with Linksys, their tech finally admitted that he had never successfully established a VPN connection with one of these paperweights.
I'm going back to my reliable Airport Extreme and a software VPN. Save your money and avoid Linksys.
11 DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!
After being a Linksys customer my entire high speed life, I am now at my wits end with this router. I am on my 3rd replacement and I still can't get the thing to connect to the internet. Support doesn't even answer my emails anymore, I just apply for an RMA and send it back. The trouble is I am paying for shipments and could have bought something else by now. I have also helped a friend setup and configure a WRT54G with no problem! Linksys is trying my loyalty. As other reviews have said: great product on paper, terrible implementation.
12 Unreliable, Constant Rebooting Total Nightmare
I've always had good luck with Linksys, however the Wireless WRV54G is one product to stay away from.
This is the second one, the first one I returned because it could not maintain a wireless connectivity for more than 1-2 hours. I'm using 3 laptops one with a Cisco 350 card, an Orinoco Gold card and a Proxim A/B card...all these cards work fine with other access points and wireless routers but not with the WRV54G. I am 100% sure it's the WRV54G router.
The first one was shipped with 2.01 firmware the second one had 2.21 on it...nevertheless it had no improvements in the wireless connectivity area. The wireless is completely down after a day or so. A reboot is the only resolution.
I haven't even tried the other features yet, what the hell, the basic functions aren't even reliable enough to function properly why bother trying the bells and whistles.
Bottom line, don't waste your time...very disappointing!!!
13 Expect some headaches, even if you already know networking
I have been pretty disappointed with this device and Linksys in general. The DHCP server does not work well on this for Linux or Windows clients, the router's wireless signal strength weakens over time for no apparent reason .. a reboot every few days fixes that one .. everytime I reboot the router I have to manually release and renew the DHCP lease ... and I am up to date on the firmware for the device. Blah.
I am also pissed that Linksys stops doing firmware updates for models when they release new models. Example: I bought a WET54G bridge as well and the last firmware update for that is 2.06, from last year .. well, for the Speedbooster version they now have 2.10, but have they released that rev for the pre-speed booster version .. no!
Don't expect Cisco performance or reliability .. this stuff is flaky and not very robust. I do network administration in my day job and the last thing I wanted to do was have to dink around with my home network .. and I have had to do way more of that with this equipment than I wanted to. Hrmph!
I also bought a PCI Cardbus 802.11g cards from Linksys .. first batch .. PCI out of the box was dead, Cardbus card died after one day .. second batch .. Cardbus card died after 5 days .. sent them both back to get a refund .. yuk!
I will never buy Linksys products again. If I could afford Cisco I would buy Cisco .. this stuff is BY NO MEANS Cisco quality or robustness. I think Linksys, and from what I hear, other wireless companies, need to stop pushing product to market before it is well tested .. and when they do push to market, provide firmware support for as long as the product is on the shelves or AT LEAST provide an Red Hat Network kind of service where customers can pay X/year to continue to get firmware updates ..
I give Linksys a D for quality and support. Never again.
14 Listen to the reviews, spare yourself the nightmare.
This product does not work. If you are buying this product for the VPN then find something else. It flat doesn't work. Linksys support just wants to push you away, because they know it doesn't work. If you have doubts, go to www.thegreenbow.com and read the faq's about their vpn client software. There is an faq about how their people were never able to establish a tunnel with the wrv54g router. The only advice Linksys had for me was to put my server in the dmz. If I wanted to open my computer up to the whole world I wouldn't need their stupid router. Save yourself the headache, and pass on this one. Trust the reviews you read. I wish I had. Mine's being picked up by fedex today, after wasting two weeks trying to get this piece of you-know-what working.
15 Stay away if you don't want headaches
This router looks great on paper, I with linksys behind it I was glad to give it a try.
However the firmware (software that runs the router) is very unstable, causing our Internet connection to drop out every 2-3 days. This is with the latest updates as of July 2004.
The VPN support is also weak - it won't work with Windows XP with default VPN settings, meaning every Windows XP computer you use with this router must have special, complicated, settings to get the VPN to work.
The worst part about this is that Linksys is aware of both of these problems, and has not resolved them after months and months of frustration.
Could have been a great product, too bad the supporting software and company will not let it work properly.
16 Igor
Constant troubles, reboot every day. Support is patetic. Do not buy
17 Not Ready for Prime Time
As stated in many prior reviews here, the WRV54G is simply not ready for release as a consumer-quality product. My friend was looking for a wireless router with VPN, and he bought this one simply because it was the only such unit at CompUSA at the time. I have used many Linksys products before and have been very satisfied with their quality, so I initially thought it was a good choice. Boy, was I wrong.
The setup was indeed simple, and the unit was up and running in a few minutes. There were a few snags getting 128-bit encryption running, but overall the interface seemed pretty intuitive.
The big problem with this unit is reliability. Connected behind a standard cable modem, this unit loses its DHCP settings frequently (usually in a day or two, sometimes sooner, and at every reboot). When this happens, the connection to the Internet is gone. It's still possible to connect to the administration page on the router itself, though, at least usually. The only way to restore the DHCP settings is to go to the Status tab on the administration web site and click on the DHCP Renew button. Even power-cycling the unit doesn't work, as DHCP is always messed up when it reboots, but clicking the DHCP Renew button causes it to work again.
On three occasions, the wireless unit seemed to fail. Connecting to the router with an Ethernet cable, rebooting the unit through the admin interface, and manually renewing DHCP worked twice. One time, even connecting to the admin interface via the Ethernet cable failed.
My friend bought another unit to install at a second home, and had Comcast install the unit when they installed the cable modem. Of course, they left everything at default settings and did as little as possible. Once again, the next day, DHCP failed and the Internet connection was lost; only this time, hitting DHCP Renew still did not renew the address, nor did power-cycling the unit. Tossing the router altogether and plugging straight into the cable modem works fine, though, but of course that defeats the purpose of a router.
I can't review the VPN functionality, because it's never been stable enough running as a plain router to even begin worrying about VPN yet.
Upgrading to the latest firmware version did not help. My advice: stay clear of the WRV54G! If the issues are firmware-related, perhaps future upgrades will fix this unit. I wouldn't bet on it with my money, though.
18 Not up to Linksys usual high quality...
As an IT consultant, I have always loved Linksys equipment for my small and medium business customers, they always seem to work out of the box, but yet have enough advanced configurations to make a tech geek happy.
Well time comes to purchase a Wireless Router for my home, so I can setup a VPN tunnel, when we install the VPN end point at the office later next month.
I open the box and setup the router, take a few minutes to configure it, clone MAC address, setup DDNS (wish it would support updating AD DDNS), and other settings. At first the DDNS wouldn't update, no big deal everything else is working.
36 hours later... turn on my Xbox to play a game of Mechassualt, DHCP isn't providing an IP, decide to wait until the next morning when I bring one of my laptops home. Sure enough couldn't ping the thing from work, it isn't assigning IPs, nor could I pull up the setup page. I hit the reset button, the modem reboots and starts working.
I then goto the setup page, lucky it kept all my settings, I then did the firmware update. Works fine for another 24 hours. I am getting really disappointed, tonight I am going to do a 30 second reset on the modem and will find out in 24 hours whether or not I will have to do an RMA.
19 Reboot at least once daily...
I was really looking to rate it 2.5 stars.
My background/IT IQ: software developer that moonlights as IT support contractor.
I support a small company that purchased this thing three months ago. As of this date, I've installed the latest firmware on the unit and realized a bit more stability. BUT,
- The WAN connection is failing once a day, precipitating a reset. Then all is fine for another 24 hours or so.
- Like someone said earlier, any ole configuration change requires the unit to reset - a behavior I had not seen with previous Linksys products(BE... and WRT54G at my home -- both much better(read reliable) products).
- Mixed mode wireless is less than stable too, but I've put in additional switches around the office so even laptop users are "plugging in" when at their desks.
The previously mentioned switches seem to have, as a side effect, "confused" the WRV54G at times upon reset. I say that because once in a while a simple reset(power reset that is) doesn't clear up that once daily WAN drop. Disconnecting the ethernet patch cable from the internal network(which is all connected into a switch in the closet) from the router is 100% effective at those times when power reset doesn't work.
Hopefully that last bit didn't confuse you too much. I inserted only for those thinking about using this thing in a similar small biz network.
I have not successfully setup a VPN yet -- I haven't really tried between a home machine and this router. I have been much more interested in finding out whether(supposedly yes) and how you can setup a connection between two routers. Through Google and others, I've only found one person who successfully did this. Considering it's reliability though, I've stopped bothering.
They MAY improve this thing with future firmware, but truly, it's not worth buying presently. You're better off with a proven VPN router(the earlier Linksys?) and getting a WAP for wireless.
Truly.
20 Good if you like to reboot
I have had the wrv54g for about a month, and it worked fine until I needed to web into the router or use the wireless. The box locks out the ability to web in to the management interface, not the external interface (WAN) but the internal interface. And the wireless access dies at the same time.
All the wired connections still function, as far as I can tell, and the firewall still functions while the management interface is locked-up. I have the latest code for the router, but I have had to reboot this thing almost once a day. This is a fairly pricey box for a home user, and Linksys has had some good products, but I would recommend staying away from the wrv54g.
The reliability, or lack of, has really been disappointing. Save your money, this product is not worth half the current price.
21 There IS a happy medium
Well, you have the people who say THIS IS THE BEST PRODUCT 5 STARS and you have people who say THIS IS A PIECE OF JUNK. Believe it or not, it's somewhere in between *gasp*.
Well, I will tell you this--if I could do it again, I'd probably stay with my WRT54G... it *was* more stable. Which matters in my field (IT). But it's not as bad as these people make out.
I use dynamic DNS with no problems, I've tried VPN, and while a little confusing on W2k, it works fine on XP and similar OSes. A lot of these problems you see people having are slowly getting fixed with recent firmwares, and the ones that haven't been fixed yet are coming. Eventually.
I really don't think that this is up to the standards of linksys products, it feels like a beta, but other companies ship a lot worse than this.
Kinda odd, I think that my bios has locked up here somehow, I'm having to get an RMA and get linksys to sort this out--it won't reset. Don't mean to scare you or anything, b/c I don't think this has hapenned to anyone else, but... the reset button appears to do nothing when I press it... lol.
Anyhow, you've got a choice. Do you want stability? Or do you want VPN? Either choice is OK, but know that you will have at least a few small headaches over this router, but it very well may be worth it for you (it is for me).
Yeah, looking back at that it was sorta confusing. Oh well.
22 Pretty flakey product
I purchased the WRV54G because of the VPN features. I thought that it would be as reliable as the WRT54G, which I was upgrading from.
Unfortunately, this router is pretty flakey. Some problems I've had with it include frequently dropped VPN connections. It will be working one minute, then the next, the connection is lost. (To fix it, I had to remotely log onto my work's router and disconnect/reconnect the VPN tunnel.)
In addition to this, it seems to require frequent reboots. The internet connection will just be dropped (and this is not related to the VPN disconnection problem.) I will be able to ping the router, but cannot open the http configuration screen. Therefore I am forced to manually turn it off/on. Such a hassle, as the router is located downstairs.
We had purchased two of these -- one for me, and one for work. They were having just as much trouble as I was. The one at work has subsequently been replaced by the Linksys RV802 and no more problems on their end. FWIW, it's now being used as an expensive WAP.
The product description is very impressive, which is why I bought it, but I cannot recommend this product. It is just too unreliable.
23 The positive reviews are a little misleading.....
I have had this product and already reviewed it. What gets me is the people who say "don't listen to those negative reviews..." but they never set up the VPN side of this router. If all you want is a router/firewall that is wireless and allows you to browse the Net then Linksys has other models that are much cheaper and do pretty much the exact same job.
My negative comments are on the VPN side of things, which is why I purchased this product to begin with and it is why it is priced higher than a regular Linksys router. Yes... you do get more logging information than the cheaper ones... but most home networks do not care a bit about logs to begin with. You could have purchased a Linksys WRT54G much cheaper and had the exact same functionality(minus the enhanced logging features). The positive reviewers' "deceptive advertising" really "burns me up".
And so far... in searching newsgroups and all over the net, only one person has claimed to have gotten the VPN working. He posted it on here and made the remark "where have all the network engineers gone?" Well... Mr. Network Engineer... how about posting exactly how you configured the router and the client and send it off to Linksys support... because they do not seem to know how to either. I have read where people have gotten it to work with another VPN router but not with a VPN client and I have had clients working with both Netgear and other Linksys VPN routers just fine.
Let me say I have nothing against Linksys... I am now using a lower end VPN router from them and I gave it a great review (see www.epinions.com). It worked best out of three VPN routers I tried for using a VPN client with and I am happy with it. So my comments cannot be construed as being some sort of a Linksys basher... it is just this particular product did not do what it was advertised to do even when I went to Linksys for support.
24 Mixed results, but overall a decent product
I use the Linksys WRV54G in conjunction with the Linksys WPC54G notebook adapter as well as on a traditional RJ45 wired "ethernet" lan. As a router, the WRV54G seems to serve its purpose quite well. This is my second Linksys router, and I expected after my first experience with the Linksys BEFSR41 to have some initial difficulty in setting up the router, but I knew that as soon as I had all the initial setup "bugs" fixed it would work flawlessly. I was not disappointed on either account.
Linksys is an excellent company, and from what I have heard their other routers with embedded Linux work just fine. I have had trouble with this one however, primarily with obtaining a stable wireless connection. I have never had much luck with wifi networks in the first place, probably because my place of residence is heavily laden with devices that can cause interference with 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
I have yet to try establishing a VPN connection with the router, and from reading the other reviews I have decided not to try. I purchased the router primarily for its built-in firewall, because, although I run one of the best consumer-level software firewalls available (Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm) on every computer on my lan, I am very paranoid when it comes to network security. The router's firewall seems to work fairly well, as every test I have thrown at it it has passed.
My advice, if you are willing to spend the money on this router, invest instead in a cheap low-end computer and any Linksys 802.11g access point. Install in the computer 2 NICs and install Smoothwall Express (www.smoothwall.org). Your results should be much better, and Smoothwall is free.
25 VPN functionality doesn't quite work...
I bought this item from Amazon even though the reviews I read were less than stellar. I just assumed most of the problems were user configuration errors. After all.... it is easy to mess up a VPN configuration, especially if you are using Windows IPSEC policies because the UI for setting that up can be a little misleading.
However after setting it up in my home lab I discovered that... it just didn't work as a VPN device. I connect with a VPN client called SSH Sentinel (it is a little dated but works on every other VPN I have used). I could get a connection fine but it refused to route traffic inside the LAN at all. Even setting up the route recommended by Linksys it still would not work.
So I decided not to give up yet and searched out Google groups for people who have solved this issue and I found... no one. Everyone complained at the constant problems with each firmware release and the inability to VPN into the router properly. I was surprised because quite frankly all the other linksys hardware I have work great. I rarely have any problems with their print server, kvm switches and other routers... why in the world would Linksys drop the ball on this product.
Well it seems this particular router is different than any of Linksys's other routers because it is running an embedded version of Linux. It would seem that Linksys and this Linux vendor are having some big difficulties getting this thing to work and perhaps it got pushed out the door too soon.
Well I went out and bought a cheaper BEFVP41 VPN router from Linksys (it is not wireless but I had a spare WAP-G) and I was able to get a VPN connection the first time.
So.. if you buy this router to VPN into your home network you will have some serious problems. I also had some flaky wireless problems with it but I must admit... after reading all the problems with this model I put the thing back in the box and bought something else that works...
I hope this isn't the end of Linksys putting out good products and being responsive to their clients...
26 Only barely does what you would expect
I have a high opinion of Linksys products, but this is a huge dissapointment. I installed this on a customers site, and we have had only a few weeks of no trouble since November 2003. If you are looking for a good 802.11g wireless router, go with the WRT54G. Seriously, save yourself a lot of headaches and get the WRT54G. You have been warned. If you don't beleive me, look at all the firmware updates Linksys have had to put out since they launched this product. 2.10 was a disaster for the wireless side of things.
27 This WIreless Router SEEMS Impressive but is a JOKE
G-Only DOES NOT WORK, PERIOD.
MIXED MODE, ONLY works by making the connection to your wireless PC at 11MBps, even though your PC is set to Auto. ONLY If you force your PC in G Mode, will the mixed mode pickup the G band. Why is this important? Because if you are going from one wireless network to another, who wants to force G on their laptop to work at home, and then constantly reconfigure the wirelses card in your laptop to hand the B bands at the airport every single time you leave your home!!!!!!!!!!!!!
28 Pretty good - but a little flakey!
I bought one of these a few months ago, and promptly returned it. There were just too many bugs. Plus I have to admit I was probably a little impatient as far as working with it to get it work. I'm one of those people that expects things to work perfectly right out of the box.
Anyway, with the latest firmware release, the product seems to work well on both wireless G and RJ45 connections. I get fast and solid 54 mb connections with no problems.
I did encounter trouble setting up the wireless at first. I was using the software that came with my wireless card to configure and connect. And that just would not let me connect with WPA security. So then I switched and used the stripped down interface that Windows provides, and that resolved the problem. WPA connections work just fine now.
The user interface in the router is very nice. Most everything can be configured, which is nice for advanced users like me. I do not like that the unit has to reboot after most any change you make. I've never had another router that has to reboot so much after changes.
The only other glaring omission is that the user interface does not seem to have a logoff button. Makes me worry about other people being able to get in as administrator.
All in all a nice unit. Maybe after the next firmware release it will get 5 stars.
29 Good product with some small flaws
Actually one of the most complete SOHO wireless-routers on the market. It delivers excellent wireless performance and the configuration is very simple. The used firmware is 2.21.
But there are a few downsides as well, namely:
- the VPN endpoint does not like remote endpoints with variable IP-addresses. You can use FQDNs, but he built-in DNS-Client does not really recognize a change of the remote IP-address, even if you choose "any" for the remote endpoint the problem persists.
- the included DynDNS-Client does not work
- Wireless performance is extremely poor in a mixed environment (11/54Mbps)
Besides these flaws a really great product.
30 Stunningly Craptactular
Unable to establish VPN connection with perfectly good IPSEC-compatible remote firewall. Have had to RMA TWO of these units. Linksys Phone support is clueless regarding VPNs or even the product configuration interface. Requires software syslog viewer to view router log. Linksys-provided syslog viewer crashes constantly making it impossible to view the router log. Settings not saved when router is turned off. Unable to use external DNS servers when using DHCP functionality, must use router for DNS (see electronics fan review). A real piece of crap from a company that normally makes reliable rock-solid products. Update as of 04.04.04: this review is with the most recent firmware (2.21 - 02/23/04) A Linksys rep informed me today that they are aware of issues with this unit and expect further firmware revisions to address them.
31 it works FINE - actually VERY cool
From the prior bad reviews I read, I have to assume this unit used to have issues. I needed the VPN functionality in addition to wifi/NAT/Radius, however, and I REALLY liked my past linksys experiences. I was so wary from reviews, however, that I paid a ton at a local staples to get one since I expected to return it.
This thing RULES. It is just like the wrt54g (bought one at same time) with more features. The GUIs are very similar, but this has more features. They aren't limited to the VPN. It also has other more advanced cisco-esque features including syslog, email alerts, RIP (come on - who uses that anyway) , config file backup/restore, better firewall control etc. It has been extremely stable. I just tried the l2l vpn and got a tunnel up with a friend on a netgear in about 10 minutes - and that's with him behind a NAT box! The logs are great - very informative. The tunnel has not flinched since we established it, and the router connection is great. Signal strength and general performance have had no issues. I have not had to reboot it once. Note: I DID load the latest (Feb 04) firmware immediately on unboxing it - so let's assume that helped. This thing is ready for primetime.
32 Try #2 wth the WRV54G
Ok, after reading thr reviews and noticing that there was updated firmaware, I decided to try the WRV54G again.
Still very disappointed.
1) Everytime you enter http://ISP_PROVIDED_IP_ADDRESS the router goes to the Router Setup Page, even though I have PORT 80 forwarded to my webserver machine. The only way to see your websute is to either use a machine outside of your router or use the webserver internal IP address.
2) The wireless range is significantly smaller than the WRT54G Ver 1.1. I get about an extra 60 feet with the WRT54G.
3) Everytime you make a small change, the router must reboot. And rebooting takes about 15-20 seconds. The WRT54G doesn't require a reboot as often.
4) You cannot use the Microsoft PPTP VPN server that comes installed with XP Professional. The router does not allow for the correct forwarding of the requests. If you want to use VPN you have to go through the routers VPN setup which is a little confusing.
So my advice is to wait till this thing is a little more stable. After further reading reviews of the WRV54G at BroadBandReports I am going to stay away from this unit for a while. Plus the WRT54G Ver 2 had been released which has all the same functionality as 1.1 version but is built on a faster processor. I will probably go with that since my need for a VPN isn't that great.
33 Some experiences in using WRV54G
a. Restore to factory default after upgrading firmware (newest 2.10)
b. WRV54G acts a DNS server. If another DNS server is required, key in the IP address of the specific DNS server in Setup > Basic setup >> DHCP page and save it. This feature is available after 2.10.
c. IPSec tunnel just allow the connection between specific local subnet and specific remote subnet and remote IP addr. ANY to ANY IPSec Tunnel would be available after 2.2X
d. Why the same settings (Encryption, Authentication, pre-shared key, DH Group, PFS,...) of two endpoints can not get connect ? Try to disconnect and connect once again.
e. Unknown reason causes freeze, crash,..
I think 2.2X could solve those mazes.
34 Great product, easy setup, great signal strength!
After reading other reviews about the Linksys Wireless-G VPN Broadband Router I was hesitant about purchasing this product, but I had such a trouble free experience with my previous Linksys wireless-B router (BEFW11S4) and thought I'd give it a shot.
This router is about as simple to set up and use as ever. Within 15 minutes of opening the box I had the router set up, custom settings applied, WEP set up, and was surfing the internet at 54 Mpbs wirelessly through multiple laptops and a wired desktop computer. The signal strength is even better than I had with my old Linksys!
Don't let the negative comments sway you. This product is very simple to set up - they've even included definitions of each field as you go along.
35 WRV54G Not Ready for PrimeTime
This unit is the worst Linksys product that I have ever encountered. The ISP assigned IP does not renew except when rebooted (must do once a day). The VPN quit working after a week. Linksys' support is even worse. They say "yeah we know but we can't do squat right now". So I say why the hell did you release that to the public. Haven't you heard of testing.... what a concept. I guess that's what happens when you get too big.
36 fantastic
I recently purchased the LINKSYS WRV54G out of blind rage when the second Microsoft MN-500 Wireless Base Station I had, died on me much the same way as the first. I had heard nothing but good remarks about LINKSYS, although I was aware of an Internet connection drop-off with their other wireless products if the firmware wasn't upgraded from the factory default.
Thus far I have not had a single problem with this router, despite the bad remarks. It is fast and I do not suffer from any connection drop-offs. I use port forwarding for a web, ftp, and ssh server and they all work flawlessly. I also use the DDNS function for hosting my personal web site and have no problems with that, either. However, I have not used the VPN function yet, so I cannot comment on its abilities.
37 WRV54G is shlock
These reviews are dead-on. Believe me. Bought one of these a couple months ago and have had all the same issues with dns and vpn. I've owned a previous 802.11b linksys router and it was flawlessly for over a year up until a week ago but that's another issue and the reason I won't buy another linksys product. The WRV54G should be recalled. I've been on the phone with tech support, written emails, returned the item to place of purchase for a replacement, returned a 3 router to linksys for another replacement because I couldn't believe I would get a 3rd router that was defective. Sure enough the SAME problems plage this unit. The authoritative dns is defective, vpn is flakey, administering the router is flakey.. freezes or hangs often during reboot. Updating firmware does nothing to fix these issues. Basically i'll eat the loss on this router since I can't sell it on ebay as a previous reviewer stated. I'd get a negative for selling a defective product. You've been warned.
38 Shocked by the reviews
I am in the IT field, so I can't claim that this product is for beginners. But with that said, this thing was EASY to set up. Some of the config screens were a bit glitchy and I had to refresh the page to get the "save settings" button to draw (which caused me to lose entries a few times before I learned to check for the buttons first) but everything worked perfectly. DSL setup took about 2 minutes, wireless took longer (like 5) because I wanted to record all my WEP settings for posterity. VPN was the hardest, I do not have much experience with it, so like maybe 10 minutes?
I did not even open the instructions. I just tried the default IP and username/password combo, and "felt" my way from there. Despite what the other reviewers have written, I found this to be an impressive device.
39 DO NOT BUY, Horrible product and Support
I have never been so disappointed in a networking product and I do this for a living. I ignored the reviews and give this product a chance. I waited on-hold for support on average 45 mins. Never again will I buy another Linksys product. I went back to my never failed 3com office connect product. VPN never worked, wireless was constantly plagued with disconnects, DHCP requested were slow, even after a firmware upgrade. Just a terrible product all around. I guess Cisco has brought to Linksys it's terrible Quality and lack of testing.
40 Bad product!!!
After recently purchasing this unit, I was astonished that any respectable company would put such a product on the market for consumer use. The unit does not and can not negotiate an 802.11g connection with other LinkSys 802.11g adapters. This was confirmed by LinkSys and is awaiting a firmware patch to correct the issue. I am concerned that LinkSys is not currently developing updates as the acquisition by Cisco is no doubt causing procedural changes. I only hope this is not the case and a release is made soon.
I have begun communications with LinkSys on this matter and believe anyone looking to purchase this device should give it a read. It can be found at http://www.vanausdoll.com/wrv54g.html.
Bottom line, do not purchase this product! I learned soon after that if you update the firmware to 2.10, you will have to release and renew the WAN side to reestablish the internet connection if you make any changes to routers configuration. This of coarse is if you are using DHCP based service from your provider.
41 Unreliable, slow and flaky
I purchased two of these routers - and have had nothing but problems.
The second unit was dead on arrival. It's first replacement failed after 3 days. The third unit basically worked - except the VPN functionality. The routers couldn't hold a VPN tunnel for more than 4 minutes.
Linksys technical support was unable to assist in resolving this matter and stopped responding to e-mail requests.
The setup screens don't work properly with Netscape or Mozilla-based products, whcih makes admin using Linux painful.
42 Linksys WRV54G Wireless Review
I brought this just recently 2 months ago and had no problem setting this up. I have 3 computers and 1 print server connect to it wirelessly using 802.11B & 802.11G network connections. I have not yet get a drop signal or disconnection. I just want to let you that this network device is not for beginners it takes some knowledge of VPN to set up or you have to do some research. Begginers should try Dlink or Microsofts network routers. Instructions I would say is a little skippy but the product works great.
43 What happened to the Network Engineers in the world?
I have read all the reviews here. I have also successfully set up numerous types and brands of VPNs where I work as a network engineer. As soon as I saw that my favorite home brand of networking devices came out with wireless g and vpn in one, I had to have it. I have at my house: Windows 2003 Server hard-wired, 2 WinXP Workstations, Playstation 2 with Wireless G Game adaptor (Linksys), and a Sony Clie UX50 w/built in Wireless B. First of all, all my LAN devices have had absolutely NO issues with connections, port forwarding, etc. The Wireless G and Wireless B successfully connect every time, even though if both are connected at the same time (a "flaw" with a mixed connection is that the protocol automatically drops to the lower 802.11b for all clients... but that's a global issue with Wireless G APs). Then, I have my VPN setup so that I can connect from my parent's house, work, and anywhere I choose to. Since I have tons of experience with VPN setups as well as tons of use with the Linksys/Cisco interfaces, this was a breeze for me. I don't know why there are such negative reviews on this product, it's by far the cheapest home/small business setup you can have. At the risk of sounding like a complete snob, if you are well versed in setting up VPN, then have no fear. If you have any reservations at all, you will want to read up on VPN in books or via Microsoft's articles.
**UPDATE** New Firmware out, get it! I also want to tell everyone that manages to read this, that the people who are complaining about the Linksys support are COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED. I used to work Tech Support, and as we all know, there may be a few "bad apples" amongst the lot, but I can guarantee you that Linksys Support is unquestionably stellar to say the least. I have purchased Linksys networking products ever since Broadband internet was made available for Home users... I had one router "die" when I attempted to upgrade firmware, and after 5 minutes on the phone, my replacement router was in the mail. Any technical issues or questions I have get answered immediately and professionally. If you have had a bad experience with this product, don't get discouraged by any means! Similar companies with similar products (Microsoft, Belkin, SMC, etc.) simply PALE in comparison. (Many of my co-workers have purchased other brands, they always come back to Linksys!)
Oh, and by the way, Cisco doesn't make the Linksys products, they just basically formed a business merger. So they slap the Cisco name on there to "woo" the Cisco freaks, but the products are still made by Linksys people. Cisco and Linksys have a trade up program, and this particular product is one of the eligible products for trade for a Cisco brand product.
44 0 Stars - Congratulations Cisco on Killing LinkSys.
Seems like since Cisco bought Linksys, they halted development on all their products. And linksys products NEED development. Doesn't act as a VPN endpoint because they changed the software to require you KNOW the IP address of your traveling USER. As if dialup/hotel accounts ever give a random address out. (sic).
That's annoying and I might have had a little patience if the damned basic router worked. It didn't. If you have a webserver and DNS on the inside of your network being accessed by the public with port forwarding (80 and 53), and your local clients try to access sites on that server by name, the DNS will give them the correct info (the external interface of the router), the router figures out they're on the inside of the network(even though they are asking for the external address), and of course it KNOWS they must want to access the router configuration page.... all the older linksys routers seem to perform this function correctly, and changing the type of forwarding (3 avail in this device) doesn't help.
The G band performance bites compared to the weak performance of the wrt54g that I was trying to replace.
This product is clearly defective and Cisco should recall every one and send us all coupons for beta testing their shoddy work.
This is yet another example of a shoddy LinkSys product in recent times. I have had to tell my clients not to buy LinkSys without my express permission or I will not be able to guarantee the products will work no matter how much time we spend trying.
45 Terrible Product - Terrible Tech Support
This product claimed so many features that I knew I had to have it. Unfortunately it never lived up to the expectations. When compalining to Linksys tech support about the DNS services not working I was told to return the device and purchase another, as the device was obviously defective. The second device had the same problem. The issue is that the so-called DNS server is not opperational on the WRV54g.
One wonders if this device ever passed through a QA department - or if the quality assurance staff are as technically challenged as the tech support staff...I would not expect this low quality from any company in the Cisco group.
The last contact that Linksys had with me was to use a different device (a device other than the WRV54g).
46 Very Disappointed with this product
I had high expectations of this device but was disappointed by the poor documentation and cumbersome configuration. After investing the time and effort to configure the device I found its most unfortunate flaw. When powered off this device reverts to factory default configuration, none of the myriad of settings are saved. Not only do you have to start from scratch but, a simple power outage could create a huge security risk to your network. When the power is restored anyone with basic knowledge of the linksys default settings could gain wireless access to your network and would easily have admistrative access on this router.
47 Shame on Linksys
Very disappointed with this product. The documentation is poor, making even the slightest config change requires a two minute reboot and their DNS feature is hosed. It acts as authoritative DNS for whatever domain it obtains from the ISP and then fails to resolve addresses for that domain. Example: router becomes router.ispname.com When trying to resolve mail.ispname.com the Router acts as authoritative DNS and does not relay that request so the request fails. I saw in the config where you can change the domain...but it doesn't work. This really hampers the usefulness of the DHCP feature, which again does not allow customization of DNS Servers. Add the poor VPN support, horrible docs and I've experienced occassional wireless outages that I never had with my 3 year old DLink and I have to say Linksys really blew it with this product. Is this what we can expect now that Cisco bought them?
48 Had major issues trying to use this router
I currently have a WRT54G wireless 54G router and wanted to upgrade to the WRV54g for the VPN feature.
The minute I plugged in the WRV54G I had problems. I have a WPC54G Wireless PC card, a WET54G Wireless Bridge, and a WMA11B Wireless media adapter (all Linksys products) that all work great with my WRT54G router. The only client I could get to work with the WRV54G was my wireless pc card. I never was able to figure out why. since every client had the exact same configuration when working with my WRT54G.
I also had an issue with my FTP server. When an outside machine would connect, the router would lose internet access and then would have to be rebooted.
I was never able to get the VPN working either. The directions are very confusing and there are too many variables that can cause an issue and it is very hard to troubleshoot.
My recommendation is to stick to the WRT54G wireless router until Linksys gets some updated firmware to fix these problems.
49 Poor VPN Support
I upgrade a customer to this device to add the wireless capability. The were using a Linksys BEFVP41 successfully with SSH Sentinel VPN Client software. I am unable to connect with SSH Sentinel and am told by Linksys support that it does not support the SSH Sentinel software, yet, to keep checking their web site for update firmware.
This is aweful that they replace a product and remove functionality.
