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: Cheap, Easy to configure Disadvantages: SFP GBIC ports are shared with copper ports, loud fan.
I haven't found a cheaper 16 port Gigabit Ethernet switch than this Netgear. This 19" rack or desk mountable switch has 16 copper ports and two SFP GBIC ports. The GBIC ports are shared with copper ports 15 & 16 - so you get to use either or, not both, which is a bit of a shame - but they do say it is a 16 port switch after all... They have at least given you the option of adding either short or long range fibre capability to the switch.
The switch will work out of the box as if it were unmanaged, but then you'd be missing the point...
The switch is manageable via its built in web server, which provides an easy to use interface to all the common functions you would expect - 802.11Q VLAN tagging, Quality of Service, Jumbo frame support, 802.3ad link aggregation. You can upgrade the firmware using the web interface too, keeping ...
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 AGM733" »
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
13/10/2005
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. PRODUCT FEATURES: Adds long-haul fiber optic connectivity to the FS726T, FS726TP, FS750T2, GS716T, GS724T, GS748T, FSM7326P, FSM7328S, FSM7352S, GSM7212, GSM7224, GSM7248, GSM7312 and GSM7324; Drives Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to 70km distances; Meets SFP GBIC standard for use with any SFP GBIC compliant slot; LC connector; Works with 9 µm single mode cabling.
