Netgear FVS114 ProSafe VPN Firewall/Switch

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...

ilaskey 13.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe VPN Firewall 8 FVS114 - router

Netgear

Advantages: No problems with connection
Disadvantages: None

...I used modems supplied my my internet service provider and experienced problems with connectivity and drop out. In the end I got so sick of phoning the ISPs to report problems to be given the same twaddle (updating drivers etc.) that I went into my local branch of PC World and asked for their recommendation. The Netgear DG834G was the salesman's recommendation. It cost £50 and has been one of the better purchases I have made. My desk top PC and now my son's laptop use the same router and the wireless signal has never failed. We do not suffer from connectivity issues and trust the routers security to protect us from freeloaders and hackers. I would personally recommend this router type over those supplied by service providers....

vicke_p 26.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR DG834G 54 Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router - wireless router

Netgear DG834G v2 - lovely piece of kit

Advantages: stylish, robust, wide range of features, WiFi and wired connectivity
Disadvantages: drops connection during lightning storms, manual slim on advanced features

...wirelessly, and it works great. The newer laptops I have also link up great with their inbuilt WiFi connectivity. The Netgear DG834G also allows you to setup wireless security on it (great if you don't want your next door neighbour freeloading on your broadband connection). This can be tricky to set up at first - mainly because you need to also set up the password on every PC connecting wirelessly to the router - once you've done one, the rest should be easy. One of the best things about it is that incorporates the modem, router, and a firewall all in one box. If you need to connect to work from home - this router is fantastic, because it also implements VPN pass-through, which means you can authenticate to your workplace (if you have a company laptop and connect up from home normally). Admittedly, this probably doesn't affect a large...

gtsang123 01.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR DG834G 54 Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router - wireless router

Always a Netgear

Advantages: Everything!
Disadvantages: None!

...I have owned this Modem / Router for about 2 years now, and i can honestly say, i have not needed to touch the thing since i set it up when i bought it! It's been sat on the floor behind my desk for as long as i have owned it, Being an AOL user, i was recommended this router becasue of it's easy set up. (AOL Customer care is useless), But i managed it flawlessly, the wireless range is impressive, on my laptop, the signal strength is Excellent/Very Good everywhere in my house, and it remains Good in my garden (about 20 meters from it!), I have never had to reset the router because of wireless problems. I would never replace it with any other brand, if this one decides it's had enough, i will definatly get another netgear router. Hope this helps....

Clifford_Uk 05.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR DG834G 54 Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router - wireless router

Netgear DG834G

Advantages: Great Signal Strength, Multiuse, Easy To Use
Disadvantages: Installation

...Ahhh the netgear DG834G, my first router and still my current router! I have had this router for over 2 years now and it works fine still! The hardest part ever whilst using it was the installation! We actually had to ask a computer programmer, our neighbour, to come round and install it for us! It was that confusing! Depending on where it is located, it gives different signal strenghts, sometimes i dont get signal in my bedroom; but if i move the router around a little bit i get signal! But this can also be due to electronic interference! The connection speed is great with a maximum speed of 54 Megabytes Per Second, which is a great speed for my needs! It connects all the phones, playstations and laptops in our house without trouble so it is good enough for me!!! So if you are a first time router purchaser, this one is great!!...

lallofrall 25.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR DG834G 54 Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router - wireless router

Switch to Netgear

Advantages: Easy to use, easy to install
Disadvantages: closeness of the ports.

...Netgear are well known for their networking equipment and it is for this reason I want to tell you about a great piece of kit. The 24 port switch. 24 ports of networking capability.... But what does that all mean??? Ok, let me tell you about what a network is. Even the internet is just one big network. it is simply just a collection of computers that are connected together and can communicate. Simple! But, how do you connect them together? Its not like they shake hands and have a chat is it? Well in a way, that is what they are doing but using some extra hardware to do this. To put a computer on a network, it needs a Network interface card or NIC. This plugs into your computer's motherboard. Its basically similar to installing a graphics card or sound card. You then need to connect the computer via the NIC card to...

andycharger 02.06.2003 (04.06.2003) · Read review
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Review of Netgear 24port 10/100 Switch

Switch to Netgear

Advantages: Excellent quality. loads of features, easy to install
Disadvantages: None

...Netgear are well known for their networking equipment and it is for this reason I want to tell you about a great piece of kit. The 24 port switch. 24 ports of networking capability.... But what does that all mean??? Ok, let me tell you about what a network is. Even the internet is just one big network. it is simply just a collection of computers that are connected together and can communicate. Simple! But, how do you connect them together? Its not like they shake hands and have a chat is it? Well in a way, that is what they are doing but using some extra hardware to do this. To put a computer on a network, it needs a Network interface card or NIC. This plugs into your computer's motherboard. Its basically similar to installing a graphics card or sound card. You then need to connect the computer via the NIC card to...

andycharger 21.07.2003 · Read review
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Review of Netgear 24port 10/100 Switch

Netgear WPN824 Wireless router

Advantages: Wireless and Wired connections, easy to install
Disadvantages: Blue ring of light can be annoying, but can also be turned off!

...I have recently exchanged my Belkin router for the Netgear WPN824 as I was experiencing regular disconnections with my Belkin and found their customer support was not very good. I opted for the Netgear after various recommendations from friends and reading the reviews on ciao. The Netgear has a nice sleek, modern looking design and has a ring of Blue LEDs on the top that flash/rotate when connected wirelessly. Personally, I find these be a little annoying at night because they are quite bright but they can easily be turned off via a switch on the back. It also comes with stands so it can be put in an upright position. It has some nice green flashing lights on the front to show when each computer is connected to it and wether it has internet connection (as most routers do). This model has a wireless connection speed of 108mbps...

fbxiii 21.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router - wireless router

NetGear DG834N Wireless Router

Advantages: Great stable router with great range and speed
Disadvantages: None found yet

...supplier was easy and within a few minutes I was connected to the internet. My broadband supplier is BE Unlimited and they do not require a username or password. Obviously for those suppliers that do, you would need to enter that in the web interface. Once the basics were set up I was able to remove my Ethernet cable and place the router behind a hallway cupboard. Netgear supply the router with a small stand and insist that it is always kept upright. This is I presume to allow adequate ventilation. The router allows you to set up port forwarding and comes with a few predefined services. The ones I required were not shown in that list so I had to set mine up myself which is pretty straightforward if you know what ports the various services that you set up require. Security comes in the form of a built in firewall and WPA/WPA2 encryption...

Soundsexciting 08.03.2009 (07.03.2009) · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR RangeMax Next Wireless ADSL2+ Modem Router DG834N - wireless router

Neat gear from Netgear

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...

sjhill 18.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe GS716T - switch - 16 ports