NETGEAR FM114P ProSafe 4-Port Wireless Firewall Review

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(More customer reviews)I've got quite a lot of experience using the Linksys BEFSR series, Netgear MR314 and now the FM114P broadband routers. Of these, the FM114P wins on just about every front.
In general I liked the Linksys line as they had some useful features, including port mapping and UPnP support, which the Netgear products do not have. On the down side, they also have occasional hang ups and don't do stateful-packet-inspection (SPI). SPI is becoming ever more important with the rise of denial-of-service attacks and port scanning bots.
After a particlarly frustrating week with the Linksys router needing to be reset twice as often as usual, I decided to try the Netgear MR314 (note: the same routing hardware is in all the xx31x models). At first, I was a bit disapppointed at the loss of port forwarding and UPnP support but at least the router was solid (no resets) and the wireless range was excellent. After downloading the latest firmware from Netgear's site I took a look at what else they offer and saw the FM114P model, which I hadn't seen at any local stores. The next morning I took back the 314 and bought the 114 at CDW for the SPI firewall features alone. I was pleasantly suprised that I got a whole lot more for the extra [money] it cost me.
The first thing I noticed is that the 114 is faster, and not just a tiny bit faster but a LOT faster. This suprised me as I didn't think that any router added a significant delay to the packet stream but I immediately noticed the pages loading faster. I can't say that there is a bandwidth increase, but latency is definitely reduced (the lag between clicking on a link and the page starting to load). I assume this is due to the 114's 75mhz processor performing its logging, security checks, and routing processes in significantly less time than the other brands/models's unspecified embedded hardware. In my opinion, using a true onboard processor is the way routing hardware should, and will, be headed in the future.
The 114 also improves on the 314 with a detachable antenna, stateful firewall, built-in print server, better service customization (still no UPnP though) and more security options. This unit is practically perfect for connecting and securing a "broadband attached home network"; with wires or without.

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Netgear's ProSafe 802.11b firewall delivers everything you could want in one mega-capable unit: router, switch, print server, Wi-Fi certified wireless access point, and firewall. This fully equipped, broadband-capable firewall is a true firewall and provides you with the utmost in business-class security--Denial of Service protection and intrusion detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security. And a built-in print server lets you share a printer on your network without leaving your PC on. With four auto sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time--including as many as 32 wireless users, which avoids the hassle of running additional cabling. Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes. There's also a complete antivirus software bundle included at no extra cost to shield your network with additional protection.

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