An Old Standby Reborn: NETGEAR FVS318G Reviewed

[claykin]

Tim

That is some lousy IPSec VPN throughput. My 2+ year old Zywall 2+ has 3x better performance with IPSec VPN and also a bit better performance with basic Firewall throughput. If it wasn't for the Gigabit LAN ports, the Netgear would be a complete waste of time. Wait, with that level of throughput, it may be a waste! Very sad for a Q3 2009 product intro unless Netgear wants to sell it for $79 or less.

The funny thing is that Best Buy will stock this thing and sell it to unsuspecting consumers....

 

[thiggins]

Complete waste of time is probably a bit harsh, Claykin. The throughput is appropriate for many small business DSL connections.

But you're correct that NETGEAR probably could have made a higher performing product given today's processors and still kept the price point.

 

[claykin]

OK, OK. I was a bit harsh. I read the review and said to myself that Netgear can do so much better at the $129 price point.

 

[beisser]

in my opinion this router is great. its greater than anything netgear has ever produced at this pricepoint. its only bad point is the raw performance, butas tim said, its not meant to be a superfast router. its mean to be a router for the most common internet-lines today, which are at ~20 mbit. if someone needs something fast he can always grab one of the bigger machines.

but i may be a bit biased there

 

[claykin]

in my opinion this router is great. its greater than anything netgear has ever produced at this pricepoint. its only bad point is the raw performance, butas tim said, its not meant to be a superfast router. its mean to be a router for the most common internet-lines today, which are at ~20 mbit. if someone needs something fast he can always grab one of the bigger machines.

but i may be a bit biased there

Yes you are beisser. I'm typically a Netgear fan, but don't have the "connections" you do. Anyway, I have a hard time recommending this when a Zywall 2+ can be had for the same $.

 

[Subarupa]

Given Netgear's history with VPN on the FVS318, I would be suspect of this one too. It had a lot of bugs that Netgear never seemed to want to fix. Like the one where it looses the VPN and you can't just re-enable it. You have to re-create it in the Wizard. If it power cycles you will probably loose the VPN again. These devices are not meant for Business class VPN and I wouldn't trust them for personal use unless you can put up with it failing all the time.

The reviews are short term and don't stress these devices over time which is a shame. I hate being the Guinee Pig without any support from Netgear.

 

[beisser]

Given Netgear's history with VPN on the FVS318, I would be suspect of this one too. It had a lot of bugs that Netgear never seemed to want to fix. Like the one where it looses the VPN and you can't just re-enable it. You have to re-create it in the Wizard. If it power cycles you will probably loose the VPN again. These devices are not meant for Business class VPN and I wouldn't trust them for personal use unless you can put up with it failing all the time.

The reviews are short term and don't stress these devices over time which is a shame. I hate being the Guinee Pig without any support from Netgear.

what you are hinting at is the old "i lose my preshared key upon reboot"-issue. that problem should be long gone. i havent heard of those kind of problems in ages.

im not saying this router is perfect, but its very good for everything i use. and it keeps its vpn-settings too

 

[Unregistered]

Fvs318g

I use the FVS318G at home for basic NAT and distribution of my WAN connection. Seems to be ideal for the small network who has basic connection sharing needs and throws in the ability to connect remotely via VPN.

 

[Unregistered]

Updates Possible?

Since this has the same hardware as routers that support Jumbo Frames and VLAN, is it possible for these features to be added via a firmware update?

Thanks for any information.

This is a great site.

Mark

 

[giomania]

Upgradeable via firmware?

Since the review mentions that the hardware is capable of supporting Jumbo Frames and VLAN, is it possible they could add either of these features with a firmware update?

Thanks for any info.

This is a great site!

Mark

 

[thiggins]

Since the review mentions that the hardware is capable of supporting Jumbo Frames and VLAN, is it possible they could add either of these features with a firmware update?

Perhaps. But I don't recommend buying any product based on what a vendor might do.

 

[Unregistered]

Reliability problems?

Did you have any reliability issues with the FVS318G during testing? I bought one in Dec. for my home network and have had consistent failures.

(Here's my config: ATT 6Mbs DSL into a Westell modem to the Netgear to a gigabit switch with a PS3 and a Mac Mini both hooked to my TV.)

About 50% of the time when viewing movies on Netflix or Hulu via both the PS3 (Netflix) or the Mini (Netflix and Hulu), the stream would stop. It would never make it more than midway through a second movie. Each time the FVS318G was completely unresponsive even to a ping from a directly connected system. The activity light between it and the modem was quite busy, but nothing else. Cycling power was the only solution.

I'm putting together my network in a new house and purchased an RVS4000 to replace it, but have found out online that the RVS4000 doesn't play well with the new 2Wire 2700 ATT sent me.

 

[thiggins]

Did you have any reliability issues with the FVS318G during testing? I bought one in Dec. for my home network and have had consistent failures.

I had no reliability problems or lockups. But I don't test for an extended period of time.

 

[Unregistered]

LAN to LAN throughput

I saw the wan to lan throughput and thats much faster than my dsl line. What about lan to lan speed, has that been tested?

 

[thiggins]

I saw the wan to lan throughput and thats much faster than my dsl line. What about lan to lan speed, has that been tested?

We don't test LAN-LAN speed, which would be testing the switch chip. All switch chips used in consumer routers function at wire-speed and there is no significant difference in performance.

 

[Mikrodots]

25% failure rate on the FVS318G

Hello,

I installed 45 of these routers in the last couple of months (early 2010). They are used as branch office routers for a client.

Basic configuration:
Internet Connection: cable Internet with static IP addresses connection speeds from 5/2 to 25/5

LAN: typical office has about 12 PCs, a couple network printers and a couple WAPs

Router Configuration: static WAN address, running DHCP and a single IPSec VPN back to the corporate office.

We have had to replace at least 12 of these - they brick. More than a 25% failure rate. Resetting them does not fix the issues. Some may come back up, but the GUI will be so slow you know they are no longer working properly.

You need to join NetGear's private forum to read anything about these issues - the private forum information will not come up in a Web search

Also - reboots take a long time - can be over five minutes before they are fully functional.

I am very disappointed - not to mention the client is not happy about this and it is costing a fortune for everyone.

Mikrodots

 

[thiggins]

Thanks, Mikrodots.

Would you mind posting this as comment / rating in the review itself? Thanks.

 

[Mikrodots]

Done - and thank you.

I am looking for a replacement for this NetGear router - something in the sub 200USD range to stay within budget. I still have 80 more sites that need to be completed.

Tried the Cisco RVS4000 - the VPN proved entirely unreliable for me even when connecting to a Cisco ASA at the main office.

I have roughly 300 sites using Linksys BEFSX41 that have performed wonderfully for years. I would still use them but the Internet bandwidth has increased so much and that product is EOL.

I am investigating Zyxel product line now, I'm not familiar with their products.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Mikrodots

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for posting the review.

You might look at the Cisco RV042 and if you need more ports the RV082. Both are entirely different designs than the RVS4000.

ZyXELs are also decent, although not as prevalent as the Ciscos.

Many people like Drayteks. They're more popular outside the US.

 

[VAPike]

FVS318G discontinued?

Has the the FVS318G been discontinued? It doesn't seem to show up under of any of Netgear's "Product" pages. Searching for FVS318G on the Netgear site gives a hit for what seems to be the product page but that page doesn't seem to exist anymore. It was there 2-3 weeks ago. The link now just takes you to the Netgear home page.

This device seemed to fit my needs - gigabit router/firewall with more than 8 ports and a reasonable price. The VPN and DMZ functionality weren't really on my list of features for a device for home use but could be nice to have.

Have currently added a GS105 gigabit switch to connect gigabit devices. Sticking with an RP114 router (10/100 Mbps) to connect to the WAN. Not certain if that would have any negative impact on the speed of the devices connected to the gigabit switch. If so, there's a case for replacing with a gigabit router such as the FVS318G. The other argument for the FVS318G is rationalizing to a single device.

Are there any suitable alternatives to the FVS318G? The majority of available devices seem to include wireless and only four gigabit ports. I want to stick with wired only for this setup as it is in a closet and need more freedom to locate wireless access elsewhere in the house.

All suggestions/comments welcome.