Netgear FR114P Firewall Cable/DSL Router with Print Server

True Firewall with Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Intrusion Detection
Denial of Service (DoS) attack protection and VPN pass-through
Built-in Print Server and Network Address Translation (NAT) Routing
Easy-to-Use Smart Wizard and Install Assistant
Free, complete antivirus PC software bundle

Ultimate Security with True Firewall, Routing and Bundled Antivirus Software

Total protection!
That's what your office network gets with NETGEAR's ProSafe Firewall/Print Server.

This true firewall is broadband-capable, and provides you with the utmost in business class security Denial of Service (DoS) protection and Intrusion Detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts.

VPN pass-through maximizes network security with access control and encryption. And a built-in print server removes the bottleneck of a dedicated PC print server and supports multiple print jobs simultaneously.

With 4 auto-sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time. There's even a 100 Mbps WAN port for future high-speed broadband services.

Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes, and a complete anti-virus software bundle is included at no extra cost to shield your network with additional protection.

Thoroughly Protected
Has everything you want for maximum security coverage: True Firewall using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Intrusion Detection features, Denial of Service (DoS) attack protection and, for extra safeguarding, VPN pass-through.

There's even a Kensington Lock™ slot on the unit to prevent theft. And with free Freedom™ anti-virus and privacy protection software, the FR114P ProSafe Firewall with Print

The Netgear FR11P ProSafe firewall/print server is a true, broadband-capable firewall that provides you with the utmost in business-class security--Denial of Service protection and intrusion detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security with access control and encryption. And a built-in print server removes the bottleneck of a dedicated PC print server and supports multiple print jobs simultaneously. With four auto sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time. There's even a 100 Mbps WAN port for future high-speed broadband services. Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes, and a complete antivirus software bundle is included at no extra cost to shield your network with additional protection.

1 DHCP stalls
I upgraded my home net with several pieces of Netgear hardware, including the FR114P router, the WG102 Wifi Access Point, and the FS108P, an 8-port switch with 4 Power Over Ethernet (POE) ports. The AP and the POE switch have been excellent choices. Not so with the router. Although it has features you don't find in a lot of consumer routers, like stateful packet inspection (SPI), logging, and email alerts, it just kept dropping connections to my home PCs for no apparent reason that I could find, and no support from Netgear. The DHCP server would seem to die, and all my home PCs would then lose their IPs and revert to private IPs (169.254.x.x). At that point my only recourse was to restart the router. After three weeks of this nonsense, I said to he** with it. I'm sending it back. The router I'm interested in now is the SMC Barricade Plus SMCBR14VPN.

2 Supports L2TP VPN
The Linksys BEFSX41 is a faster and superior router to this Netgear box. I've found Linksys products in general to be more reliable than Netgear. BUT, I've be migrated to a new VPN client that utilizes IPsec L2TP. Although the Linksys does support IPsec pass thru, it does not allow L2TP. This NetGear router does. The print server is a nice plus, IF you want the router right next to the printer. I don't. So if you need L2TP, then this router is a good value. If you can spend more, I would suggest the SMC Baricade SMCBR18VPN. Its better quality and supports L2TP. But it lacks the print server and costs more.

3 similar to others -- good for a while, but ...
I, like many other reviewers, found the router to work as advertised, mostly. like others, I never was able to get the printserver to work with my Lexmark 3200. But I mainly bought this item for its router/firewall capabilities.

as with others, the unit worked fine for nearly 18 months. now, I have to power cycle the thing nearly every time I boot my pc's in order to get an internet connection. and it randomly looses the internet connection with my cable modem. once the internet connection is lost I also loose LAN capability. it's really too bad, I really liked this product. for nearly a year and a half I didn't even think about it much. now it's a big headache. I gave it 2 stars since I liked it when it worked (4 stars) even though the print server didn't work, and now it rates 1 star -- so I took the average. for an $80-$100 product you wold think these things would last more than a year or so.

4 worked OK for maybe 18 months then "pop" and smells bad
Never could hook up the printer, but it worked OK for a while until it started making erratic connection with the cable modem. Then "POP", a bad smell, and I'm out $100!
Serial FR14A278A011564

5 Good featureset, but reliability and performance concerns.
I've owned two of these routers now -- my first one died after about a year and I replaced it with the same model because I was fairly happy with it and it worked.

Configuration is easy and yet powerful. Pretty much all of the features I could want come built-in and work (make sure you get the latest firmware from the netgear site!)

In general the router has Just Worked for me -- I configured it, and left it alone. My DSL is up 24/7 and fairly heavily used, and I never ever have to touch the router.

On the other hand, I'm about to replace this router with the BEFSX41 -- my DSL line speed has recently been upped to 3mbits, and I'm now finding that the netgear box is the bottleneck on my network. Do a little bit of googling and you'll be able to find some comparative throughput tests (this router was by far the slowest)

6 Good featureset, but reliability and performance concerns.
I've owned two of these routers now -- my first one died after about a year and I replaced it with the same model because I was fairly happy with it and it worked.

Configuration is easy and yet powerful. Pretty much all of the features I could want come built-in and work (make sure you get the latest firmware from the netgear site!)

In general the router has Just Worked for me -- I configured it, and left it alone. My DSL is up 24/7 and fairly heavily used, and I never ever have to touch the router.

7 Rock Solid, Quality.
Excellent product. Perfect for the home or small office. I've been using this router for over a year and it works perfectly. I've recommended this product to several clients and none have reported the hardware failures that others have posted about. The print server is a very nice bonus. I have six computers behind my router and the performace is outstanding.

8 Fails after 1 year (if you're lucky); BAD customer service.
My router failed after 1 year. It was then replaced by Netgear with another lemon (after hours of "home-tests" and dealing with several incompitent, rude, English-language impaired service reps). After the replacement failed within 1 month, I was no longer eligible to recieve anymore help from Netgear. I got the run around treatment (they refused to transfer me to a manager or even listen to my complaints) and unless you pay $35-$50 for another warranty, they will just cover their ears and say, "La-la-la-la-la--." Don't bother with this scrapmetal. I recommend D-Link products.

9 Warning this product will fail - second edition
Had the exact experience as thorshammerhomebrew but I was lucky enough to have mine last 12 months. If you want a nice router for a year this one is great....

10 Warning, This unit will fail.
Please read the review from WhiteHerring before you purchase. I had the same exact thing happen to mine. It works wonderfully... for a while and then fails completely. Mine lasted about the same length of time, 9 months, with all the same symptoms.

11 Printer Server function never worked, then box died.
Got a good deal on a very gently used unit, and the print server was a nice 'extra'. But I never succeeded in getting the server to recognize that a printer was connected! Decided it simply wasn't worth the hassle as the router/firewall/access point functionality worked OK (after a few upgrades to the software). Then one of the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply of the box exploded. Perhaps Netgear is a victim of counterfeit components... or maybe the design is simply too cheap. No matter. The less-than-satisfactory ownership experience will lead me to try a competitor out when I shop for a new box.

12 Print Server is useless
The firewall/router portion of the FR114P is great and easy to set up, but the print server is useless! I have a Canon i850 on Windows XP, and it drags the print speed down so low that you want to cry. While printing graphics it literally pauses for a second or two after each pass of the print head. After installing via the recommended method (Netgear's virtual firewall printer port), I found a tidbit of two cryptic sentences on their website that suggested installing the printer via the Windows LDP/LPR port as a remedy for slow printing. This made no difference. Tech support then suggested turning off print buffering on the Windows printer settings. This only made matters worse as it still printed slowy but now also ties up the computer until it's done!
I returned the FR114P and will now try the D-Link DI-704UP which has a USB print server. This thing's great if you don't mind paying an extra $40 for print server functionality that you'll never want to use!

13 Firewall/Router work fine - Print Server a project
The router & firewall functionality of the FR114P are fine. Print server took hours of effort with varying error messages but no printing.

Netgear offered to send me a new box for $15. Charge even though I am well within the warrantee period. New box seems to be working fine, but it has only been a few days.

This box has a documented issues with HP printers. They are (now) clearly addressed on the Netgear web site. Be sure to look there before you try to use this with an HP printer. It will not work if you follow the instructions in the manual.

As for the other features, I followed the instruction manual to the letter. On line with 3 computers in no time. Networking between the computers worked out of the box. But no printing.

E-mailed back and forth with Netgear tech support. Reasonably prompt replies, but nothing more that pointing me to the same material I had already reviewed on their web site.

Called tech support. Typical 30 minutes on hold. Tech rep was very professional, but unable to get the printer printing after about 45 minutes of trying. Then offered the replacement box.

14 Brainless security
Being the paranoid type when it comes to computing security, this box is a good step for novice and expert alike. It's an affordable gateway that provide 85% of any security you'd ever need for even the most paranoid, and on 1 Mbps DSL I have observed no negative performance drain running with 2 Windows XP Pro systems (450 Mhz and 2.53 GHz). Netgear is also offering business class solutions in networking, so they're stepping up in the world (meaning you can expect new products and ongoing support from the company). No complaints for the money; this is a strong value when accounting for the print server as a bonus!

15 Should have kept my RP114
Horrible product. I "upgraded" from my Netgear RP114 to this product so I could ditch my software firewall. Well, I wish I hadn't. I get constant lockups and dropped connections on both WAN and LAN. Noticeably slower web access compared to the RP114 it replaced (Although I'll chalk this up to a true SPI firewall). Finally, after years of good tech. support from Netgear, I had the added bonus of talking with a tech. who didn't have the slightest clue about the specs of this router. She spent nearly half an hour insisting that my router had a "check" light, indicated by a check mark shaped LED. I kept arguing that my router had no such light (although another popular Netgear router does). Furthermore, her official answer to everything was "just reboot". I felt like I was stuck in a real-life episode of Dilbert. Anyway, numerous updates, countless resets (full and partial), and a mountain of frustration later, I'm ditching this paperweight and going in another direction. Save yourself the time, money, and aggravation and avoid this puppy at all costs.

16 It Just Works
Was installing Gentoo Linux as dual boot with Win2k Pro & got hacked, so I bought this router/firewall.

Took about 10 minutes to install in Win2k: shutdown & unplug surge protector, plug the cables in, plug the surge protector in and boot the computer.

After booting it just worked. Installed the latest stable firmware & then installed the print server driver, which took most of the 10 minutes because I didn't know the printer on the print server then has to be setup as a local printer (FR114P_P1).

Passed all the tests on the Shields Up site with flying colors!

Works great with Linux too, using CUPS -- just lpd://192.168.0.1/L1

Take that, hackers!

17 Extremely simple, yet powerful for the techie...
I looked at over 10 different cable/DSL routers and decided on the Netgear FR114P based on features, price, and reviews (and past bad experiences with LinkSys.) Being a Network Engineer, this puppy was a no brainer to setup. Now I have port forwarding setup and Dynamic DNS working like a charm! When the RPC worms hit and was shutting down Microsoft computers all over the planet - I never even noticed! The print server was a snap to setup and didn't even require drivers to be installed if you are running XP or Linux (I run both) - I use LPR and it works great! The only issue I have had is with Shareaza (Gnutella client) when I enable EDonkey2000 support - It floods the router until it refuses to pass traffic.... no big deal. Speeds are excellent and management is a breeze.

The only complaints I have are:
DynamicDNS doesn't update unless the IP changes - if it's on all the time, the IP never changes and eventually I get an Email from DynDNS.org stating no updates in 30 days and if I don't update within 5 days my account will be suspended....
Not enough versatility with port forwarding... I want to have the ability to accept requests on port 9945 and forward to an internal port 80 instead of being forced to have both port numbers to be the same.... no big deal though....

18 Great product ... for a while
For about 9 months this has been a great firewall/print server/router switch. Very fast and easy to set up via a web browser. Newer firmware features really enhance this product. However, beware of hardware failure in time. It seems that Netware routers have a very cheap capacitor that fails frequently in time. (There is the telltale test lite that remains on after a reset, and the odor of a burned out electronic component) Why do I say this? I have had two netgrear firewalls fail in the same way within a month of one another -- this FR114P and the similar FM114P (essentially the same unit with built-in WAP). Great features -- all that I wanted and needed, easy setup (within minutes), but terrible quality. Now I have to decide which of the competitive brand firewalls I should buy.

19 Easy setup, works great
This was even easier to setup than I had anticpated. I have a Win 98SE desktop and an XP desktop, both went online with no problem. The print server worked just fine after installing the print server software on both machines. The router automatically received all info from my ISP (DHCP, DNS numbers, etc) and was up and running while I was making my network connections. Have not tried gaming or port forwarding yet, but I have had no problem with the rules setup.

Before the router I used my internet connected computer and a crossover ethernet cable to share my internet conection through proxy software as well my printer between my two desktops.

20 Powerful firewall, yet easy to setup
The FR114P has more expressive rules than you might find on a Linksys.

21 Works with Unreal, Quake 3 without problems
Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents:
Seamless, brainless install for network connectivity.
Printer driver works fine, but install on 2 *very* similar machines was oddly different (see a previous review).
Didn't have to put the game machine in the DMZ, or even setup any port forwarding, it worked right out of the box with stock settings (thank you Netgear). Have played Unreal Tournament 2003, Quake 3, and Soldier of Fortune 2 straight out of the box. It's sooooooooo nice not having to f**k with network settings when all you want to do at the end of the day is play a round or two of a game. DSLReports.com actually shows a slight increase in upload/download speeds, so there's probably no difference compared to my previous PC/firewall machine, and from what i've seen, my software firewalls are all reporting about 99% less activity. The print server feature is pretty sweet. All this ... is pretty amazing and a great buy.
-Hope this helps the curious-

22 A Great Product and Easy To Set Up
I have three computers in my home, two of which I built myself. I needed a way to share my internet connection, share files between each machine and share a printer. I had a D-Link router that worked just fine but I had to have my main computer up and running to print. I didn't like that at all. So, I decided I needed a printer server. After looking at a lot of "stand alone" print servers I decided to just replace the entire router. I never really cared for the D-Link I had. It was difficult to set up and the packaged instructions were terrible.

When I recieved my NetGear Router I opened the box with dread in my heart. I remembered how difficult it had been to set up the D-Link and expected the set up of the NetGear to be just as gruesome.

I was totally surprised. The instructions were clear and concise. I walked through them step by step and had the router up and running in about 10 minutes. What a relief!

Then I set about setting up the print server. The included CD-ROM contains the step-by-step instructions for installing the printer port and for configuring your systems. I had the print server up and running in about a 1/2 hour.

I have been running this router for about two months now and have absolutely no complaints. I do a lot of downloading and my speeds have not been negatively impacted by the installation of the router.

The print server is solid and spools jobs from each machine and then prints each job effortlessly with no problem.

I highly recommend this router.

23 Disappointing... not for gamers.
As a previous owner of Netgear RP114 router, it was only natural to upgrade to the FR114p. I wanted a router for the following reasons: 1) to network my family's computers, 2) to provide security for my network, 3) to play games, 4) print server. While the basic functionality of the router works as advertised, there are major issues with port forwarding for games and the print server.

Simply put, port forwarding does not work. When trying to add new rules for port forwarding, the router would lock up and crash time after time. Also, if you wanted to forward more than one port to the same computer, the router would give you an error. The problem is fixed if you upgrade from v1.3 of the firmware to v1.4 but it is a beta version and not supported. In fact, by upgrading you actually lose functionality because the content filtering no longer works. Come on Netgear, you are supposed to fix bugs, not create new ones!!

The print server is an after thought. Any time I cancelled a print job, the printer would hang and require a restart. After a call to Netgear support, they recommended turning off the spooling feature and printing directly. That works better, but now my computer is fully occupied with the print job until it is completed.

I do not recommend this router. Why should you pay the extra money for features that dont work? Netgear has obviously released a product before it is ready. Read the forums at ... for more info. Save your money and get something that is tried and true like the RP114. I'm only sorry that I got rid of mine too soon.

24 GREAT PRODUCT
Based on the previous reviews, I decided to give this product a try. After trying several similiar devices, I was about ready to give up on the whole concept. I had Netgear's product up and running in 30 minutes, which included 5 minutes of technical support. Tech support was helpful and prompt (I called at 1030 am EST on a weekday), and helped resolve a simple issue. I was able to connect an HP 1200 laser printer, an XP laptop and a Win98 desktop, all without problems.

If you're someone who is comfortable with computers but by no means a computer specialist, I would recommend this for ease of connectability, tech support and simple enclosed materials.

25 GREAT PRODUCT
Based on the previous reviews, I decided to give this product a try. After trying several similiar devices, I was about ready to give up on the whole concept. I had Netgear's product up and running in 30 minutes, which included 5 minutes of technical support. Tech support was helpful and prompt (I called at 1030 am EST on a weekday), and helped resolve a simple issue. I was able to connect an HP 1200 laser printer, an XP laptop and a Win98 desktop, all without problems.

If you're someone who is comfortable with computers but by no means a computer specialist, I would recommend this for ease of connectability, tech support and simple enclosed materials.

26 Great functionality, but thankfully a 3-year warranty
I am a small office user who purchased the FR114P after much research, and was concerned about some of the negative reviews I'd read here and elsewhere. I have been very impressed with this product. Set up could not have been easier, and I am not very experienced at installing hardware. I liked the fact that as a less experienced user, the default settings did all the work and I did not have much to program in at the outset. This will enable me to make changes later as I learn more, but didn't prevent me from getting up and running in only a few minutes.

Edit: I am adding to this review after having owned the product for 15 months. Last month, after a little over a year with no problems, my unit failed in the same way as a few other reviewers have described. The test light wouldn't shut off, and there was a "hissing" sound like something was fizzling inside the box. I called customer service, and they were extremely helpful. They walked me through a few steps to try to reset the unit, and when that didn't work, they gave me an RMA to replace the unit, no hassle. There is a 3 year warranty. About a week later, I had a new unit (you can get it faster, but you have to pay). I still like the functionality and ease of use of the product. I just hope the new one lasts. I have downgraded my rating from 5 to 4 stars for this reason.

27 No hassle set-up
I tried the Linksys firewall router and spent over 4 hours on the phone with their technical support. Nice folks but not much help. I returned the unit and purchased the Netgear FR114P. Within 15 minutes it was up and running - no problems and no calls to technical support were necessary. Wish I had tried this one first!

28 FR114P - Excellent!
This router rocks. Setup was as easy as any other router I've used.... I have SWBell PPPOE DSL and after typing in my name and password, it worked right away.

I have a 1996 HP 820Cse printer, and it works perfectly with the printer port - even turning itself on when a job comes from the router. Although, after using the setup disk to install the FR114P Printer port, I could not find the printer by browsing the LAN network. I had to add the printer as a local printer and the FR114P printer port showed up in the drop down list (Win XP). On my wife's XP system, installing the printer port from the Netgear disk continued to installing the printer without a problem (go figure - two identical XP systems).

If you buy this router just add the printer port with the driver disk and then cancel when the network printer installer comes up (if it doesn't find it). Then just add the printer as a local printer and in the drop down list of ports (LPT1, LPT2, etc) will be the FR114P.

I paid for a full security test on dslreports.com and tried a few others.... the FR114P got a perfect score evertime on every security test I tried....I've been using routers for 3 years at home (D-Link, Linksys, Firebox, UGate-UMAX) and I've very happy with this one.

No problems at all so far.....

29 No Brainer Installation
I read the other reviews here with some dismay before I bought this unit. I decided to go ahead with the purchase because I had spent a lot of time researching router/switch combos with print server capability and true SPI firewall capability. There are not a lot of reasonably priced options out there. In summary this unit has performed like a dream. I had two PC's, a NIC laserprinter, and a parallel port printer (via print server) all plugged in, configured with my DSL service, and all up and running in less than 30 minutes. Please note that BEFORE I purchased this unit I made 3 separate "pre-sales" calls to Netgear tech support and received what I considered to be good information in each instance (I even placed a call at 3am one morning to check if they really were 24/7). Read the installation guide from cover to cover BEFORE you actually DO anything and you will probably find (as I did) that this is a no-brainer deal.

30 Not The Router For You
This is one of Netgear's newest and worst models. It's ability to configure rules leaves much to be desired. Although advertising states otherwise, their technical department, are at a loss for words (or answers). Which brings to fact a second point. This particular model is pretty much without knowledgable Netgear technical help.
So if it's your ambition to find out "What came first, The chicken or the egg?" this router is up your ally. Cause you'll discover the answere to the Chicken riddle, before you can figure rules out for this router that will work consistantly.

31 u want to be their alpha tester?
I have been using RT314 for over a year, and it's great! A few days ago, I saw FR114P at Fry's. I think it's about time to have a wired router/firewall/printer server product for around [hundred dollars]. I bought it, but I never got the printer server to work. I was on the phone with a tech support and a 2nd level senior tech support for over an hour. we've tried everything, nothing worked. The senior level tech support told me that a higher senior tech support would contact me. I have a HP deskjet 952C

err... I returned the product on the same day. Since the product is new, you might want to wait awhile to buy this supposedly great product unless you want to be their alpha tester.

I would buy it again when the product matures.........