Netgear FVS318G PROSAFE® 8-PORT GIGABIT VPN FIREWALL

Comment: Bought a few of these to create vpn tunnels to our office Cisco ASA 5510, while I can connect to the vpn device the speed is limited to 3meg over the vpn tunnel. No where is this noted. The router itself seems to drop vpn tunnels for no apparent reason and often requires a powercycle to restore the coonection. Not a good thing if you want to put one in a remote site.
Bought 4, one doesn't work. I would not recommend this router.

Comment: Decent piece of kit. Mainly needed a router with more Ethernet switches on it and this was within the price range. Had it configured and up and running to replace an aging WRT54G (now using that as a WAP/Switch only) in about 20 minutes or less. I've had it for about a week now with no problems. Seems to run pretty cool. Haven't tried the VPN feature yet.

Comment: This router was purchased with hopes to give the speed results I could not get from my FVS318 Netgear.
It was limited to 5 mb through-put.
However the newer verision which is about half the size delievers all the speed I am paying for.
So I am very pleased with the updated product.

Comment: This review is for those who intend to use this device for a simple home setup (i.e., no servers, few devices, no VPN) and are just looking to take advantage of the Gigabit performance with the security of a firewall router at a relatively low price. I've noted what I did to install below in case it's helpful to anyone.

I'm going to go ahead and give it 5 stars for now as I've had a positive experience so far (it's been about a week). I will update this review if that changes.

My Config:
~Service - Comcast (15Mbps down / 3Mbps up)
~Cable Modem - Motorola SURFboard eXtreme Cable Modem (SB6120)
~Firewall Router - Netgear Firewall Router (FVS318G)
~Wireless Router - Netgear RangeMax (WPN824)

Performance:
~Modem and FVS318G - 22Mbps down / 3.2 up
~Same as above but using wireless - 16Mbps down / 2.8 up
~No dropped connections so far.
~Note A: Used speedtest dot net for performance testing.
~Note B: If you subscribe to an internet service that delivers more than about 12Mbps, be sure to use devices that can take advantage of that speed. For example, use a DOCSIS 3.0 modem and all Gigabit devices. Remember your performance will be determined by the slowest device between you and your expensive high speed internet connection.

Setup:
I was able to setup and test in about 30 minutes with no issues using the following steps.

1. Update FVS318G firmware if required (see Note C below). I successfully connected before updating the firmware so you don't have to do this step if you don't want to. But I would advise you do to take advantage of the bug fixes (and if you don't your results may vary).

2. Confirm you can connect to the internet using only the modem to your computer (following modem and ISP instructions). Then power down all devices.

3. Follow all the instructions in the FVS318G Installation Guide to connect the modem to the FVS318G to the computer (there are few instructions and they are all easy). Then power up your modem and then FVS318G and then computer (see Note D below).

4. Configure the FVS318G (if required). I used the default settings and was able to connect to the internet with zero configuration of the device (I did later update the userid / pw for the admin and guest default login creds). There may be more secure settings (I'll investigate later). If you're using DSL, you'll have to enter your DSL userid and pw in the FVS318G configuration before you'll be able to connect to the internet.

5. Confirm you can connect to internet.

6. Connect and power up wireless router (I've had this for a while so it was already configured).

7. Confirm you can connect to the internet via wireless.

Note C: You may have to update the FVS318G with the latest firmware (i.e., the software that is on the device itself) to take advantage of bug fixes since the device was originally loaded with software at the factory. Refer to the Upgrading the Firmware section in the user manual for instructions on how to check which firmware version is currently installed on your device.

1) Download the latest firmware at the netgear dot com site. Go to the FVS318G product page and click the Support link on the right. On the Support page click the Latest Firmware Version... link (download the file and make a copy of the instructions on the firmware page). It's convenient to do this prior to starting installation of your new device.

2) Follow the instructions you just made from the firmware page (also refer to the Upgrading the Firmware section in the user manual). I performed these steps with the FVS318G connected to the computer only (i.e., offline with no other devices connected).

Note D: To ensure that your system comes up successfully each time (and to save yourself much irritation) always power up your devices in the specific order indicated in the FVS318G Installation Guide. Be sure to wait for each device to fully initialize before firing up the next. Because I shut down my system often, I incorporated separate power strips since there are no power switches on either the modem or the FVS318G. My power up order; 1) modem, 2) FVS318G, 3) wireless router. So you just power up each device in the order it occurs downstream from the internet connection.

Comment: If you require basic help Netgear may be able to provide support, if you can understand the support person's accent. However, if you have a question about one Netgear item you have already purchased from Netgear(wireless router with DSL modem) working with your newly purchased Netgear product (FVS318G PROSAFE® 8-PORT) be prepared to be charged for support, because the item connecting with the FVS318G is out of its' 90 day support period. I have also had Netgear state one of their product will work for a particular application, only to find on purchasing the product that the item purchased is not supported.

I have learned my lesson-no more Netgear product for me or any of the 3000 plus active clients my company currently has on the books. Netgear's total lack of a reasonable response to a basic support question (Do these products work together?)has resulted in their being remove from our supported vendors list.

Tom Hall - President
Consulting Dallas