Netgear FR114P Firewall Cable/DSL Router with Print Server

 (41 customer reviews)

I read the other reviews here with some dismay before I bought this unit. I decided to go ahead with the purchase because I had spent a lot of time researching router/switch combos with print server capability and true SPI firewall capability. There are not a lot of reasonably priced options out there. In summary this unit has performed like a dream. I had two PC's, a NIC laserprinter, and a parallel port printer (via print server) all plugged in, configured with my DSL service, and all up and running in less than 30 minutes. Please note that BEFORE I purchased this unit I made 3 separate "pre-sales" calls to Netgear tech support and received what I considered to be good information in each instance (I even placed a call at 3am one morning to check if they really were 24/7). Read the installation guide from cover to cover BEFORE you actually DO anything and you will probably find (as I did) that this is a no-brainer deal.

I have three computers in my home, two of which I built myself. I needed a way to share my internet connection, share files between each machine and share a printer. I had a D-Link router that worked just fine but I had to have my main computer up and running to print. I didn't like that at all. So, I decided I needed a printer server. After looking at a lot of "stand alone" print servers I decided to just replace the entire router. I never really cared for the D-Link I had. It was difficult to set up and the packaged instructions were terrible.When I recieved my NetGear Router I opened the box with dread in my heart. I remembered how difficult it had been to set up the D-Link and expected the set up of the NetGear to be just as gruesome.I was totally surprised. The instructions were clear and concise. I walked through them step by step and had the router up and running in about 10 minutes. What a relief!Then I set about setting up the print server. The...Read more

This router rocks. Setup was as easy as any other router I've used.... I have SWBell PPPOE DSL and after typing in my name and password, it worked right away.I have a 1996 HP 820Cse printer, and it works perfectly with the printer port - even turning itself on when a job comes from the router. Although, after using the setup disk to install the FR114P Printer port, I could not find the printer by browsing the LAN network. I had to add the printer as a local printer and the FR114P printer port showed up in the drop down list (Win XP). On my wife's XP system, installing the printer port from the Netgear disk continued to installing the printer without a problem (go figure - two identical XP systems).If you buy this router just add the printer port with the driver disk and then cancel when the network printer installer comes up (if it doesn't find it). Then just add the printer as a local printer and in the drop down list of ports (LPT1, LPT2, etc) will be the FR114P.I...Read more