Netgear FVS318G PROSAFE® 8-PORT GIGABIT VPN FIREWALL

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...Read more

Before I owned this FVS318G, I had the FVS318 (no G). I upgraded because the G model offers way more speed. The older 318 has a WAN port that is only rated for 10 megs, so my cable connection which is rated at 25 megs was severely restricted. The older 318 also had LAN ports rated for 100 megs, while the G models are rated at 1000 meg. After switching to the G model my DL speed from the internet went from 7 megs to 23 megs!

As for the router itself, setup was fairly easy. It is administered via internet explorer or any web browser. I never had to look at the manual, and I was able to setup my 4 computer LAN with port forwarding in about 15 minutes. It has many features that I dont use such as VPN. It has been running for a month without any problems. The previous 318 ran for about 5 years without any problems (except the restriction in speed.) I do recommend this product.

When I got the device it was worthless for high-workload environments - it'd lock up or crash daily, usually more than once a day. I worked with Netgear support for six months and helped them to eventually find the problem that was causing the instability. And because of that, and the work I did with support, the 3.0.7-22 firmware was released. Run that firmware or later and it's a solid-gold device. Their support folks are solid, and they genuinely want to help. For the price, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option.