Cisco Syst. 851 Ethernet SOHO Security Router ( CISCO851-K9 ) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a home user, after upgrading my broadband to 6.0mb/s from Comcast, both my netgear and linksys routers were overwhelmed and couldn't cope up with all the activities for the 5 computers, Xbox360 and Slingbox in the house. After researching all the business class routers, including Netgear, Linksys, Sonicwall and others. Finally, I've decided that Cisco is the best product that would solve my problem. Knowing that this is a sophiscated product, I ordered the most basic router without wireless access (hence less variables to configure). Amazon has the best price among all the websites though you certainly don't get any type of technical support from them. As expected, the router requires some professional knowledge to configure. Being a home user, I only changed very few settings through the SDM software that came with the router and it worked very well within my network. The performance of the router is impressive and I am getting the same download speed if I connect my PC directly to the modem. With all the loaded activities in the house, the CPU usage was just around 40%. This router certainly is of professional quality and doesn't even warm up after leaving it on all the time.
On the flip side, I found that the user interface (SDM) to manage the router is a little over complicated. It could be much more simplier but is still acceptable. The command line interface through the console port is definitely for professional who knows exactly what they are doing. Through the command interface, you can get almost all status and configuration from the router. I dare not to modify any configuration using the console interface because I'm not sure what I'll be changing. In addition, this router is 4 times more expensive than the ones you can get from local retail stores. Overall, I would recommend this router if you need the quality and performance. Otherwise, stay with the consumer products from Linksys or Netgear.

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MODEL- CISCO851-K9VENDOR- CISCOFEATURES- Cisco 851 Secure Ethernet Router Cisco 851 Ethernet to Ethernet Router. Cisco 850 Series integrated services routers are fixed-configuration routers that support broadband cable and Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) over analog telephone lines connections in small offices. The Cisco Router and Security Device Manager (SDM) Web-based configuration tool simplifies setup and deployment and centralized management capabilities give network managers visibility and control of router configurations at the remote site. Cisco 850 Series integrated services routers offer:- Secure connectivity with Stateful Inspection Firewall and IP Security (IPSec) VPN support for small offices.- 4-port 10/100 switch- Easy setup deployment and remote management capabilities through Web-based tools and Cisco IOS Software.* Stateful Inspection Firewall and IPSec VPN Support Provides secure access when connecting to the Internet or connectingsmall offices to a central site.* 4-port Mbps 10/100 Switch High-speed LAN ports connect multiple devices to the small officenetwork.* Cisco SDM and Remote Management Features of Cisco IOS Software - Cisco SDM helps resellers and customers to quickly and easily deployconfigure and monitor a Cisco access router without knowledge of theCisco IOS Software command-line interface (CLI). - Out-of-band management with an external modem through the auxiliaryport allows IT managers to remotely manage routers at small officesites. - Cisco Configuration Express Service supports factory-loadedconfigurations in high-volume deployments. - Support for the Cisco CNS 2100 Series Intelligence Engine enablesplug-and-play installations with centralized configuration management. -- SPECIFICATIONS ---------------------------------MEMORY - 64MB DRAM included no

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NETGEAR FVS338 ProSafe VPN Firewall 50 Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought 2 of these for vpn tunnel between 2 offices, after updating to the june 2007 firmware everything worked like a charm. I share IP based phone system, Ip based camera system, and exchange servers between the two offices, the vpn works great between both offices. Everything works no problems. Maybe this model had problems before but it seems great to me now... Oh another thing I called up netgear support to help me setup the vpn and they practically setup my vpn on both ends by remote login. They made sure everything worked and even called me next day to make sure everything was working fine. All I did later was change the passwords and the vpn key. Overall a good buy.

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50 VPN Tunnels for Encrypted Remote Access.NETGEAR's ProSafe™ VPN Firewall with Dial Back-up is a SNMP-Manageable, high-performance network solution that furnishes multidimensional security. Fully equipped and broadband-capable, this Virtual Private Network (VPN) firewall comes with connection insurance: a built-in serial port for dial-up access. This practical feature means your business can maintain operation if your broadband Internet connection fails.It lets you retain an analog modem for emergency backup and also provides a migration path from analog to broadband, making the transition effortless.High on security, this true firewall provides Denial of Service (DoS) protection and Intrusion Detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL keyword filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. It supports up to 50 IPSec VPN tunnels simultaneously using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), reducing your operating costs and improving the security of your network. With 8 auto-sensing, Auto Uplink switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time.

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Duolinks SW24 2PORT Dual Wan Load Balancing Router Review

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(More customer reviews)It's hard to find a load balancing router for a smaller business that is simple and easy to integrate into the network, provides security and the necessary backup connectivity that is beneficial to a business without breaking the bank. Recently, we purchased the Duolinks SW24 2PORT Dual Wan Load Balancing Router for less than $140. It was promptly delivered and easy to setup right out of the box. We didn't have to call in a "pro" to integrate the unit into our network. Basically, over 95% of the work our business processes require internet connectivity through portals and websites. We need a solid router that provides security as well as uninterrupted internet connectivity. This router does the job. We're using it with cable and DSL. The unit easily balances our traffic across these connections. During the few months it has been in service, at least one of the connections has had trouble or failed but with the router in place, it was a seamless blip that did not impact our business. The unit "failed over" to the active connection without interrupting the network. The router is easily configured through a browser interface and has many different functions we are still learning and utilizing. It provides a good firewall for security as well as the ability to block inappropriate traffic. We're extremely happy with our choice and look forward to learning more about the router and its capabilities. All this makes it extremely affordable for the home or small to medium business that doesn't need the complicated Cisco routers and the highly paid contractors needed to install and maintain them.

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The Syswan Technologies Duolinks SW24 high performance Dual WAN router provides a fast, secure and reliable connection to the Internet. Using state of the art automatic redundancy and bandwidth load balancing technologies, it allows fast, secure and reliable Internet connectivity to all networked computers in home offices, small offices and small-to-medium sized organizations. With the addition of a second Internet broadband connection, the Duolinks SW24 ensures your network not only remains connected to the Internet, but all Internet traffic is constantly managed reliably and securely even during periods of high traffic and heavy workloads.

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Netgear FVS318G PROSAFE® 8-PORT GIGABIT VPN FIREWALL Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted to upgrade my network to gigabit as well as improve security over my current WRT54Gv8 router. After much research I settled on this unit, its really one of the only vpn/firewall with 8 port gigabit and was excited when I received it. I've configured many routers and never had issues like I did with this router. It was so bad I may have received a defective unit. Ultimately I returned it.
1. The connections are on the front, not the back the way Amazon photo shows. I knew this but just wanted to share so you have less surprises.
2. UPNP is broken and is well known error. As a pro level router UPNP isn't a priority.
3. The netgear forums that will let you know just how many problems this router has, are locked to the public, and only when you have the router and register with the serial number can you actually see the vast complaints. The forum is locked as this is a pro level router.
4. Dropped connections regularly and was completely unstable
5. Required frequent reboots and seemed to take 2 minutes or so to reboot.
6. Would lock up my cable modem and require even that to be rebooted.
On the upside
1. the firewall is very nice and configurable. All ports open as expected and is very flexible.
2. The level of control is so superior to the WRT54gv8 I'm currently using - if only it was stable.
3. QOS worked as it should and was not a gimmick like my current router.
I'm content with 802.11G speeds so I planned to use this vpn router and have the WRT54Gv8 be an access point. In the end the constant instability forced me to return it. I put the lowly consumer router back in service, updated the firmware for good measure, and returned to the stability I had prior.

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Netgear ProSafe FVS318G Firewall FVS318G-100NAS Network Security & Firewalls

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Cisco WRV210 Wireless-G VPN Router - RangeBooster Review

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(More customer reviews)
My experience with the WRV210 has been excellent. This was my first time setting up a VPN. I can assure you that any first time IPSec VPN setup will be tedious. Dealing with routers, modems, firewalls, certificates, and static IP addresses, is no picnic. That said, the WRV210 with QuickVPN client makes the task a good deal easier. I can understand other reviewers, here and elsewhere, that are not as positive regarding the WRV210. But I suspect that their ratings reflect more the tedium of the setup process rather than the device itself. And, face it, no one box, or one piece of software, is going to go out there, find the exact network that you care about, configure the routers, the modems, the firewalls, etc. with the exact functionality that you desire. To credit Linksys, the WRV210 User Guide is extensive. In some 75 pages, they clearly discuss many of the issues involved. The Linksys Online Forum was also great at filling in the blanks.
I also used the great freeware application UltraVNC (rev 1.0.5.3) to add a remote desktop connection capability through my WRV210 VPN "tunnel". It works great. (A big "thank you!" to the UltraVNC developers. My contribution is on the way.) At this point I think that I could write another chapter to the Linksys User Guide or Linksys Forum documenting my experience. I really love the robust features like a maximum of ten VPN clients, and up to four wireless SSID's. My WRV210 setup is in a small commercial studio that offers free Wi-Fi to its customers. The WRV210 wireless capability allowed me to tailor the hotspot for maximum user convenience as well as system security. It even provides a wireless LAN scheduling capability, as well as wireless isolation within a SSID which is great protection for public hotspots.
My VPN setup involves both Windows Vista and Windows XP machines. The WRV210 worked flawlessly with both operating systems. To those small business owners wanting to have a VPN capability like the big guys, the WRV210 is an outstanding cost-effective solution. I highly recommend it.


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Linksys WRV210 VPN Wireless Router WRV210 Routers & Gateways - Wireless

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Cisco RV016 16-port 10/100 VPN Router - Multi WAN Review

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(More customer reviews)I use this router on our main network of about 40 permanent users and another 20 or so users (clients) that come and go. At any one time it is negotiating 50 to 65 users via DHCP through four 24 port managed switches about ten 4 to 8 port hubs and six WAP's. Clients come and go everyday, some with Mac's others with PC's and I never have to do anything to get them on the internet. In the two years it has been in service I think that I rebooted it once and I'm not positive that it was the problem since I will reboot the modem, switches and router together. Occasionally things do get turned off for maintenance, but looking at the router admin page right now it has been running 54 days straight. I have to say it is much more stable than other small routers that advertise delivering 99 DHCP address's but really can only deliver about 10 without having to use static IP's. It's powerful browser interface lets you manage port bandwidth, port function and port priority easily. Some departments need more or less speed or higher priority. Security notifications via email keep me on top of potential attacks. The effect on speed due to security features was negligible. The "Block WAN request" even keeps our own ISP from seeing us. All these things are simple to setup. As a basic router it is very powerful.
The only short coming that I see is with the load balancing. This seems to really slow the speed significantly. I think that it is just too much for the CPU to handle. My intention was to have two different ISP's for redundancy. As a fix I leave both providers connected but only activate one WAN port at a time. If one WAN goes down I can quickly activate the other WAN port without anyone really being affected. The other ISP is mainly used for FTP anyway.
On the problems with VPN's, we don't use them so I can't comment on that.
In closing, you could spend thousands to get some of the features that facilitate subnets and load balancing, for the price it works very well.
Update: I have since purchased a second RV016 (firmware 2.0.13) with the same solid performance. I've read about some of the problems that others are having and would say that compatibility with other vendors is an issue to consider. Also using switches versus hubs takes some of the load off the routers CPU.
Update 2: We now own three routers without problem. I know that some have complained about customer service and I have to agree it's lacking. But what I would tell less experienced users is that the Sitemap column on the right side of the browser interface has extensive explanations of all the settings. This combined with a little experimentation should get you where you need to be. The file sharing problems that another reviewer had has nothing to do with the router, it's all about the computer settings. Another reviewer commented on customer service asking about the color of the cables. In the early days of DSL and daisy chaining hubs, crossover cables were used and they were generally orange or yellow and will not work with most equipment.

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WAN VPN Router, formerly part of the Linksys Business Series, is designed and built for small businesses. It provides connection sharing and secure remote access at the heart of your network to allow your employees to access the resources they need to be productive. Multiple WAN ports can be used for load balancing and redundancy. Strong security features include VPN, a proven firewall, and an optional security service that helps fight spam, viruses, and other threats. The built-in switch can connect devices in the office or additional switches.

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TRENDnet 4-Port Advanced VPN Firewall Router TW100-BRV304 (Blue) Review

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(More customer reviews)Beware buying this product from Antonline, they have a poor return policy:
Unfortunately, products with customer caused item, packaging or accessory damage; OR that are missing items, accessories or packaging; OR with activated software or intellectual property agreements; OR with missing packaging or accessories; OR that cannot be resold as new - exactly as you received the product are not eligible for return or refund.


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TRENDnets TW100-BRV304 Cable/DSL Advanced VPN Firewall Router provides small business users advanced broadband security with a Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall (SPI) that filters traffic down to the packet level and incorporates protection against popular hacker attacks such as Denial of Service (DoS) attempts. It includes VPN encryption with support for up to 70 simultane-ous VPN tunnels via client pc-to-endpoint or endpoint-to-endpoint configuration. To allow direct access to a web server or PC around the firewall the router includes a dedicated DMZ port. Installation and VPN Set-up is quick and easy with the help of the install wizard. The new VPN Firewall family delivers ad-vanced security at an affordable price.

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Cisco RV082 8-port 10/100 VPN Router - Dual WAN Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, this will be brief and is being posted only as helpful hint rather than an indepth review.
If your speeds are fine when directly connected to your ISP, but are slow or unstable when running through the RV082 try the following:
Under the firewall tab, there is an MTU setting. You MUST take this off of Auto and use the manual setting. In my case the default manual setting of 1500 is what I needed. This solved the incredible slowdown problems I was having - in fact now I have the best speeds I have ever seen on my network.
Thanks to "Lone Stranger" and the Google search in which I found his post for finally providing me with this answer after hours of frustration. No thanks to linksys email support, who was of no use at all.

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The heart of your connection-redundant secure small office network The Linksys 10/100 8-Port VPN Router is an advanced Internet-sharing network solution for your small business needs. Like any router, it lets multiple computers in your office share an Internet connection. But the unique dual Internet ports on the 10/100 8-Port VPN Router let you connect a second Internet line as a backup to insure that youre never disconnected. Or, use both Internet ports at the same time, and let the router balance your offices requirements between them for maximum bandwidth efficiency. The 10/100 8-Port VPN Router also features a built-in 8-port full-duplex 10/100 Ethernet switch to connect eight PCs directly, or you can connect more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need. The Virtual Private Network (VPN) capability creates encrypted tunnels through the Internet, allowing up to 50 remote office or traveling users to securely connect into your office network from off-site.

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Cisco RV042 4-port 10/100 VPN Router - Dual WAN Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted a low-cost VPN solution and had been debating purchasing the Cisco 501 PIX firewall and Netscreen's lowest end 5GT VPN router (which costs $450 + maintenance/support contracts) before discovering this bargain model. Tom's Networking Hardware has a good review about the RV082 holding up with Netscreen's 5GT VPN router in performance tests, which pretty much convinced me to get this Linksys brand. I use the RV082 for our main office and the RV042 as a client in our remote office in mainland China, so I can't say for sure that an RV042-RV042 solution works. Note: If you intend to purchase this model and use it for an international location, however, you do need to purchase a separate 220 volt/1000 mA/12 volt adapter, since the unit only comes with a 110 volt adapter. (Linksys apparently has yet to provide a universal power adapter for this product line.)
I thought the RV042 would be exactly the same as the RV082 except with 4 ports instead of 8. However, I found that the firmware is still a bit behind the RV082 (the RV042 also does not come with an internal PPTP server, though this PPTP server is still not compatible with the Win2000/XP PPTP client). One major benefit of the RV082 is that it comes with a free VPN client called QuickVPN (downloadable in the same section where the RV082 firmware is located). Unlike other Linksys VPN routers, the RV082 using the QuickVPN client avoids the trouble of needing to follow a 16-page procedure for configuring a Win2000/XP client to access the VPN.
The RV082 firmware (v1.1.6.3) contains an "HTTP Service" option that must be enabled to provide QuickVPN support. The QuickVPN client appears to retrieve some VPN server information through https:// requests, which isn't evident unless you look closely at the wget_error.txt located inside the C:\Program Files\Linksys\Linksys VPN Client directory. The RV042 firmware (1.3.1) does not yet support this feature, but their current BETA version (v1.3.3) does (downloaded from linksysinfo.org). Linksys has yet to officially release this firmware, so be forewarned!
The RV units may also be compatible with other VPN brands. We had been using the really flaky Symantec 200 VPN units and managed to get one of the units to negotiate a IPSEC tunnel with the RV042 and RV082. You can use the VPN log feature to see if the negotiation works. Enable the keep-alive option in the Advanced features to help maintain a persistent tunnel too!
Instructions for QuickVPN and setting up the RV042:
1. Upgrade to the latest firmware version (1.3.3 beta off Linksysinfo.org. Additional note: There are reports of problems with the the 1.3.6 beta so have stayed away from using it.)
2. Inside the "Firewall" section, enable the HTTPS service. Make sure to Save Settings too.
3. Inside the "VPN" section, click on the VPN Client Users. Add a username and password that will be used for the QuickVPN Client. Make sure the user that you will be using is selected as Active.
4. Make sure that your client's NAT/firewall has IPSEC passthrough capability turned-on. If you don't, you may see that the QuickVPN client successfully connects but freezes at "Verifying Network".
5. Your client's IP subnet should not conflict with the other remote networks (i.e. Your client subnet should be 192.168.2.0 if your remote networks use 192.168.0.0 or 192.168.1.0)
6. Verify that the IPSEC services is running on your Windows machine.
7. If you are running Windows XP SP2, you need to disable the Windows Firewall. You may also see the connection established but QuickVPN get stuck at the "Verifying Network" message.
A good place to debug your problem is to look at the error logs in the wget_error.txt in the directory where the QuickVPN client is installed (i.e. C:\Program Files\Linksys). The wget program apparently tries to connect via HTTPS to the RV042/RV08 to obtain VPN server information. If the connection is successful, you can see several .conf files downloaded into the same directory.
One another note: Both the RV042 and RV082 have a second WAN port for load-balancing, but I've seen enough reports to stay away from using this feature until Linksys manages to resolves the issues in the firmware.

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Network connections are the backbone of business connections. One of the Cisco Small Business Routers, the RV042 Virtual Private Networking (VPN) Router supports up to four wired and 50 off-site connections. The latter allows users to connect into your network with secure access to your files and intranet. The RV042 comes with dual Internet ports that can serve as a failsafe system for 24/7 network uptime, or as a secondary connection to a separate Internet provider. Whether they're used for backup or speed boosting, the router's networking hardware will keep bottlenecks away from your network, period.

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