Advantages: Good features, VPN support, 10/100 WAN port Disadvantages: Challenging documentation
Not so long ago, you were lucky to have broadband of any speed. Now broadband is getting faster with speeds of 8-10Mbps becoming more common and 24Mbps not so far away. As a result, the current generation of routers for the home or small office are starting to show a weakness - they only have a 10Mbit WAN port for connecting to your ADSL or Cable connection.
The Netgear FVS114 manages to bring a 10/100 Mbps WAN port equipped router to the party with a whole bunch of extra features. As the box proudly proclaims, it combines 8 VPN tunnels, a router, 4 port switch and SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) Firewall in to one compact device in the familiar dark blue metal case that Netgear are famous for. With support for 253 users, there's a lot of power here for the price.
What's in the box
As well as the Netgear FVS114 itself, you get ...
Advantages: Easy installation, small, sturdy, quiet, auto uplink Disadvantages: Runs quite hot
cables.
Operation
Compatibility: Most recent PC's have at least a single gigabit Ethernet port on them now. Now you can make use of it. Tested fine with Intel Pro/1000 MT cards and nVidia nForce cards
Noise
It contains no fans so operation is completely silent, however, as with all other Netgear switches, this unit gets quite hot. For peace of mind it would be best to keep it away from sources of heat (I tend to lay an old PII heatsink on the unit just to help with the cooling!)
Troubleshooting
The LED indicators provide you with all the information you could possibly need to help diagnose any connectivity problems - not that you should have any
Conclusion
Very fast, reliable equipment.
With prices for gigabit equipment coming down, now is a great time to upgrade ...
Product Information for "NETGEAR ProSafe 24 Gigabit Stacking Kit AX742" »
Manufacturer's product description
NETGEAR offers wireless, Ethernet, powerline and phoneline networking products through a complete line of routers, gateways, switches, hubs, and adapters. NETGEAR products offer the strongest security and privacy options available to protect home and business customers.
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