Netgear's FR314 cable/DSL Internet gateway firewall router offers integrated, hardware-based firewall protection specifically designed for sharing high-speed Internet connections in the home and small office. Designed with denial-of-service attack-prevention technology, it delivers business-level security to the home network including real-time e-mail alerts of any hacking attempt. It also provides Internet access filtering capability, allowing network administrators or parents to monitor and restrict Internet access according to content, Web page, or time of day, creating an easy-to-access report listing the Internet activity of each user.
With an Ethernet cable and integrated four-port switch, the system allows high-speed Internet sharing, virtual private network (VPN) pass-through, and easy Web-based setup. Designed for up to eight users, the FR314 firewall router can be expanded to accommodate as many as 45 users.
The router comes with a five-year warranty.
NETGEAR's FR314 Cable/DSL Firewall Router provides a higher level of security for small offices and affords parents the worry-free administration of their networks with true, hardware-based firewall security. Designed with Stateful Packet Inspection technology to prevent DOS attacks and malicious packets, it also provides Internet access filtering capability (based on time of day, web address, or web address keywords), high-speed Internet sharing, VPN pass-through, logging and reporting capabilities, and easy, web-based setup.
1 OK but 8 node limit is a pain
Fine as a firewall- seems to run without any intervention. But the 8 node limit is a complete pain and the 20 node upgrade is $$$. It is cheaper to get a seperate router, plug your network into that then use the FR314 as a firewall only and use the other router for NAT so the 314 sees only one IP address from your network.
2 Poor customer support
Without purchasing an additional licence this unit only supports 8 computers. When I purchased the upgrade (which cost almost as much as the unit) it did not install correctly. Support was unable to resolve the problem and level 2 support never calls back although they reply to my emails by promising to do so. More trouble than it is worth. Other routers don't have this 8 node limit. I'll not buy netgear again.
3 Finally, a true firewall router
Netgear has designed a nice looking, functional winner in it's FR314 Gateway Router.
Add wireless support and better technical support and you have a five star product.
4 Finally, a true firewall router
Netgear has designed a nice looking, functional winner in it's FR314 Gateway Router.
Add WAN support and better technical support and you have a five star product.
5 Impressed
Had never touched a router before. Was up and running in less than 30 minutes with the setup wizard. Easy to understand web interface for configuration and status. Web filter feature is nice for families with children, but the subscription fee for the web filter database seems a bit high. Manual is provided in PDF only--no hard copy--however it's reasonably easy to understand. Nice heavy duty metal housing. A tad more expensive than some competing products, but appears to be well worth a little extra. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone.
6 Works Fine
Although this was not a piece of cake to get set up and running, it works fine. I use Earthlink as an ISP so you need use PPoE which this router has. Remember if you use Earthlink to type ELN/ before your username. The router comes with one cable so if you already have two pcs linked with a crossover cable, you will need to buy an additional cable. I found that to get it working, a manual configuration was necessairy which is not too difficult. You just need to set your gateway address to the routers and make sure each pc's address is different. You also need to manually enter the dns server address which I found was not being done when I set the pc to get their addresses automatically assigned by the router. Once I did this the thing worked like a breeze, but it was at least couple hours later of troubleshooting.
I May have had some complication because I kept the computers connected with the crossover cable to two separate adaptor cards. I did this to disable netbios and fle sharing on the router connection. This way I only use the DSL router for internet access.
The firmaware installs easily and works. I tested the stealth mode (which has to be manually checked after intstalling the firmware upgrade) on the Gibson site and it works fine. I have left Zone Alarm up and running to stop zombies and Trojans from trying to access the internet from within but I have found that the FR314 stops all attacks from the outside before they even get to Zone Alarm.
I would have liked to have some features to fine tune specific applications and to monitor which applications are accessing the internet and when but otherwise it does what it's supposed to and I'm quite happy. I've looked around. Also it's extremely quiet.
So far I've used it for several days and have not encountered any of the problems others have had. It does not lose it's settings if you power it down although I'm not sure what happens if you disconnect the power.
I will check back if I have any problems in the future.
Ok. I've now used this for about three weeks. A few things to keep in mind now that I'm more familiar with some of the screening features. The default setting is to allow all services access to the internet. Once you set the default to block, you need to manually configure services by port. I've noticed a few quirks in terms of getting the settings to work but after reseting them everything seems to work out. You would be surpised how many applications try to access the internet, including by the way the firewall on port 123. I assume it's trying synchronise it's clock, however some of the sites are unidentifiable. The firewall will block by port but not by application. In other words if you shut a port off then all applications that use that port will be blocked and there is no way to selectively allow one through. Another drawback is that you can't set a destination address by port. In other words if you wanted an application to access the internet but only to specified IP addresses, you can't do it. This I think is essential to protecting against trojans using familiar ports to get out. Another feature that is badly needed is logging of allowed services. While you can log blocked packets you can't log allowed packets, again a feature you might want to see if there are trojans surreptitiously try to access the web.
Another drawback is that while you can block web access by domain you can't do it by IP address. Also there is no way to block by outgoing port if you're in NAT mode.
Having mentioned these criticisms I still recommend this firewall. It's a great buy and it's limited logging is pretty cool. You can set it up to email the log once a day.
7 30 minute set-up, and it works!!!!!!
Took 30 minutes or less to read the simple instructions, unplug my switch and replace it with the router. Configuration was simple and after that all I did was reboot my 3 PC's and 2 laptops. Read other reviews that mentioned problems with VPN and port assignment but I am not doing any of that. No more paying for 3 internet connections. I am now paying for 1 and have all 5 on the net, (my ISP limits homes to 3 IP addresses). I should mention that I actually have the FR 318 which is identical to the 314 except the 318 has 8 ports vs. the 314's 4 ports. This product has my recommendation.
8 FR314 Updating
The product installs and operated generally on the first try. However, rentry to modify the FR314 is very troublesome. The password entry screen has been defective on 4 out of 4 units I have purchased. A check with other owners of the unit shows the problem is probably related to a critical software design bug in the units firmware. Many people set the unit up once and never need to modify the firmware settings. If the firmware settings need to be modified then the problems are uncovered.
There are better DHCP servers/firewalls at comparable prices. While this unit is inexpensive, the problems far outweigh cost considerations. This product received one star because I could not assign it a thumbs down.
9 My first firewall router
Very easy and quick set-up. It took me about 10 minutes to set this up with my cable connection. I especially like the content filtering feature. I recommend this product for worry free use of your computer on the net.
10 Easy, simple, works!
I purchased this router to have a way to share internet access with my ADSL line. I went from out of the box to browsing the web in about 10 minutes tops. The web based setup is very easy to configure and use. I updated the firmware and am now enjoying a stealthy shared connection to the internet. Anyone looking for a router look no further. No real complaints yet!
11 quick setup and worry-free use
I am using my Netgear 314 to split a DSL connection to a Mac running OS9 and a Linux box. The netgear has been nothing but reliable and the setup was pretty easy, especially with DHCP. I think that the Netgear's web setup interface could use a little help, though, because even I (a geek) even had a bit of trouble navigating through parts of it. Once you are through the setup, however, it's smooth sailing. I haven't turned it off or reset it since I got it up and running at least 5 months ago!
I would highly recommend it.
12 Excellent Firewall
I'm a network engineer who has been working with PCs since the mid '80s. This is a good router and a flawless firewall. It's easy to setup and usually runs like a top. A hardware based firewall will ALWAYS outperform a software solution like Zone Alarm, which is your only option if you buy a standard DSL/Cable router like Linksys.
With the release of firmware version 6.2.2 the FR314 now offers STEALTH mode, which means that not only will outsiders be blocked from connecting with your computer, they won't even know it exists. TCP/IP packets sent by hackers to probe for open ports will be eaten up by this firewall as if it were a black hole. You couldn't ask for anything better. This firewall (particularly with the updated firmware) is worth every single penny.
Netgear still needs to improve their customer and technical support services...While frustrating, it shouldn't prevent you from buying this firewall.
13 Gotchas
Be careful this router does not support PPTP connections with Microsoft Windows NT and 2000. Fact sheets on Netgears web site suggest that it does.
14 Great Turnkey Solution!
I can't say enough good things about Netgear and their internet router products. The easy to use web interface and comprehensive firewall features make this router the ideal solution for small to medium offices.
15 Excellent for family
Found it an easy setup straight out of the box using a web browser to input my cable modem's ip address etc. Useful web content filtering which has some configurable elements for blocking a word within a URL. Also has site logging. Unit seems relatively quiet for its class. Great for protecting a family with young/teen kids from less desirable web material - but note that ongoing updates of 'bad' web sites requires an optional subscription. Has been running constantly for several weeks, no problems encountered.
16 What a joke, didn't even work right
As a devoted user of Netgear cards and switches I am utterly disappointed in this product. My work purchased this item to use as our router for our new DSL line not knowing that there is a hidden trap and broken features. Only 8 computers can access the internet through this router until you pay even more for additional licenses. Additionally, the redirection of incoming traffic based on port numbers just refuses to work. (...)
17 Finally, a TRUE firewall product!!
I've been using my windows 2000 server using internet connection sharing (ICS) to share my cable connection to the rest of the house. Well, the motherboard died.. don't know how or why, but it died (being RMA'd). This was a great opportunity to find a router/firewall product instead of using my computer, which had to be on 24/7 so that everyone can access the internet. Well, with the power crisis in California and rise in electricity costs, I've decided to look for a less power consuimg option. My search ended with the FR314. The FR314 is a TRUE FIREWALL product, unlike the other Linksys, SMC, and even other netgear products that use Network Address Translation (NAT) as it's main security. There's nothing wrong with NAT, but it doesn't offer true firewall capabilities or PROTECTION. The FR314 utilizes Sonicwall's technology to manage it's firewall features. It basically is almost a "home" version of sonicwall's SOHO2 product which costs twice as much as the netgear (after MIR). Basically, it's got a great firewall engine (sonicwall) with a few less features (no DMZ, poor content filtering, no antivirus), but at more appealing price. Even with it's less features, it's a great option for the home user.
