Netgear Prosafe Vpn Firewall Fvs328na

At first glance, the Netgear ProSafe VPN Firewall FVS328NA looks like a steal. At $278 list (and as low as $180 street) it's a fraction of the price of other products that support up to 50 VPN tunnels. It even comes with a serial port that can be used for dial-up or ISDN fail-over in case you lose your broadband connection. But the company charges separately for its VPN client software, which is based on the Safenet client. With a list price of $62 per seat (or $209 for a five-user license), the cost of client software could quickly come to dwarf the cost of the router itself.

We also found the complexity of VPN configuration with the Netgear unit such that it requires a consultant not only for setup but for routine maintenance. A simpler VPN wizard, already available in other Netgear units, is on the way for this one. If your needs are for remote users connecting over secure tunnels to the network, this entry is affordable but may not be worth the hassle.

If, on the other hand, you need to set up a secure WAN link between two networks, the FVS328NA is dirt cheap and not quite so terrible to manage. The instructions are complex, but such connections don't often need maintenance once they are functioning.

Unlike the Safe@Office, there's no real concept of user management on the FVS328NA. To have separate management of users, you need to create a different VPN profile for each user, with each having a certificate or shared key. Once again, this is tough sledding.

The non-VPN functions on the router are much more appealing. It comes with eight built-in WAN ports and theoretically can handle up to 253 users. Configuring the basic network connections and the firewall is quite simple. Port rules are well designed, and Netgear includes definitions of a fair selection of predefined services (such as AOL Instant Messenger on port 5190) for you to manage. Adding other services to the list is trivial.

The general layout of the configuration software, accessible through a Web browser, is well thought out. Three vertical frames contain a list of general functions, the main configuration options for the selected function, and help for that function. Several times we were gratified to find help right there when we needed it. Another bright spot: Updates to the firmware are included for the life of the product.

All told, the FVS328NA has a lot to offer. Too bad the daunting configuration will keep a lot of small-business managers at bay.