Netgear Prosafe FWG114P

Not just a SOHO router.

Price: £157

Manufacturer: Netgear

Ratings

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Verdict

Pros:

Analogue modem support; easy installation; good documentation.

Cons:
No WDS support; limited printer support.

Verdict:
Covers most broadband and networking needs for a variety of users in an uncomplicated fashion.

Alex Arias, PC Magazine 11 Mar 2004

Network appliances for the small office/home office (SOHO) sector should offer low cost and easy administration. Netgear's FWG114P multifunction appliance meets both these criteria and offers extra features that cover many of the requirements for home or small office use.

Designed for broadband, it's a lot more than a basic router, with an integrated firewall, 802.11g access point and a print server. Like other Netgear products it is easy to install, using helpful wizards, and has a clear, Web-based interface.

To make the upgrade process easier if you have an existing broadband modem or router, it supports MAC address cloning, so you don't have to re-register with your ISP.

The product is based on a stateful packet inspection firewall and provides intrusion detection - a safer approach than just NAT - that offers advanced content filtering capabilities.

It also allows you to establish access policies, for instance based on the time of day. Port forwarding, DMZ and Dynamic DNS support more advanced uses such as running a web server.

Wireless connectivity uses the 2.4GHz, 54Mbit/s 802.11g standard, and provides backward compatibility and a degree of longevity. As with all wireless environments, security is an issue and Wi-Fi Protected Access is available as a firmware upgrade. As standard it offers 128-bit WEP encryption or MAC address access lists.

Up to 64 wireless clients can connect to the AP, although the limited bandwidth of 802.11g makes that impractical. Up to 253 LAN clients are supported. It lacks WDS (Wireless Distribution System) support, although this isn't really an issue for the target market.

Software is provided for the print server, with a USB 2.0 connection on the unit for the printer. It supports peer-to-peer or Windows printing, but this was fiddly to set up. It's also worth checking which printers are supported as it's not comprehensive, although most popular Canon, HP, Epson and Lexmark models are on the list.

The four-port switch offers scope for connecting additional PCs. Redundancy isn't usually found in this price range, but the FWG114P has a failover DB9 serial port for an ISDN or analogue modem, with extensive hardware support. The serial port also supports a single RAS (Remote Access Server) client.

Management information is gathered via logs that can be emailed to administrators, and remote management is possible over an SSL connection.

This tiny box certainly pulls its weight, and is suitable for a wide range of uses in even quite large SOHO environments. Although it's targeting a highly competitive market, its ease of use and extensive features are compelling.

Contact: Netgear 01344 39702
www.netgear.co.uk

Specifications: