Netgear FVM318 Cable/DSL ProSafe Wireless VPN Security Firewall

Nothing outperforms NETGEAR's FVM318 ProSafe Wireless VPN Security Firewall for economical total office network safeguarding. It delivers business-class protection and addresses the main concern regarding wireless LANs å? security. A true, Virtual Private Network (VPN) firewall with an 802.11b wireless access point, it's fully equipped and broadband-capable. Denial of Service (DoS) protection and Intrusion Detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts, as well as new AES encryption capability cover all the bases. This unique firewall supports up to 70 IPSec VPN tunnels simultaneously on the wide area network (WAN) and up to 32 VPN tunnels on the wireless local area network (WLAN) for a total of 102 tunnels, creating a security-maximizing barrier against wireless hackers while reducing your remote access operating costs. With 8 auto-sensing, Auto Uplink switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection simultaneously.

1 Netgear FVM318 - Solid AP & VPN
Specs are great - hardware VPN [3DES & 256bit AES], 100+ tunnels, dyndns support, Stateful FW, syslog, 8 port 10/100 switch, 7.5Mbps WAN-LAN on IP & 4.2Mbps using 3DES.

Ive experienced solid performance with very good 802.11b range and throughput. Remote access via available Safenet DialIP client and office-office tunnel to a Netscreen works well.

Very good documentation on the website for connecting this device to other manufacturers equipment - like Cisco, Nortel, Win2k, etc. Was able to bring up a branch office tunnel to a Netscreen [not documented] in about 30 minutes. Included WLAN client not tested, nor was the available full client [less than $30 per user] -- but its available!!!

Only negative - support. I forward a couple of ports to an internal linux box. That machine can not connect to the 'net unless I turn off the port forarding. This could be a 'feature' of the beta firmware v1.2b I'm running. But that code is required to use domain names rather than IP addresses for VPN end-points. After trading email with netgear support - nothing got resolved.

Overall - its a solid box with some rough edges.

2 Bad product.
This product really sticks. I bought a couple days ago and then had to return it. I couldn't even set up the VNP because there was no proper documentation. I call Netgear and their support was no help at all. The router couldn't work wirelessly and wired simultaneously for the same machine... without reset the router... What I am trying to say is if you connected wirelessly to the router and then disconnected that wireless connection and then plugged into the router with your wired LAN cable... you would not have a connection. Unless you went into the the router wirelessly and resetted it manaully. The latest firmware upgrade they have for the router is a beta v1.2 - And if you have a a problem with beta versions of their firmware you cannot call them (Netgear).... you have to email .... beta@netgear.com or something like that. It does have alot of cool features but there are too many glitches. Hope this review helps.

3 Nice box, needs better documentation
The documention that comes with the router is garbage. The client software that comes with the router is garbage, In fact, the documention and the screen shots didn't match what the router's web interface. Nor did the documentation match the client client software it comes with.

Aside from the problems with the documentation, once you figure out Netgear's logic, everything works. Well, atleast everything I've tried. I've been able to set up a client to Netgear VPN connection, and Site to Site. I've also tried all the other features and so far, everything works solid. The only thing I haven't used is the wireless.

Over all, I am happy with the FVM318. The only drawback is the documentation.

4 decent products - awful technical support
I've had a variety of netgear products over the last 3-4 years. I've generally been pleased w/features and functionality.

Up until recently I've never had to draw on netgear tech support. However, after a year of working fine one of my firewall/routers went "kerplunk." All the signs point to a hardware problem. So I contacted tech support realizing that I'd have to go through the usual rigamorole (sp?) to get an RMA.

However, despite a very detailed email description of the problems and the various things I did to try and fix them (firmware upgrades/reinstalls, hardware resets, etc) the tech who answered me told me I'd have to contact them through telephone support.

Currently (11:10 PM Eastern Time, 29 July 2003) wait times for tech support are in excess of 140 minutes! That's unacceptable.

If you are lucky enough to never need tech support, or to have an item repaired/replaced then netgear is a fine option. Otherwise, buyer beware!