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Introduction
| At a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Product | NETGEAR ProSafe 8-Port Gigabit VPN Firewall (FVS318G) |
| Summary | Updated FVS318 w/ Gigabit ports and hardware DMZ port supporting 5 IPsec tunnels |
| Pros | • 8 port Gigabit switch • Switchable DMZ port • Bandwidth throttling • Reasonably priced |
| Cons | • No Jumbo frames • No VLANs • Doesn't meet 7 Mbps IPsec tunnel throughput spec. |
NETGEAR has finally improved its mainstay FVS318 Firewall / VPN router, in the form of the FVS318G. The 318G has eight Gigabit LAN ports and new hardware DMZ capability. And it's even smaller than its predecessor, while offering more features.
Physically, the 318G has undergone a few changes. It measures only 7.5” x 4.9” x 1.4”, while the 318 was 10” x 7.4” x 1.4”. All ports are now on the front and NETGEAR has gone with a gray metal case on the 318G versus the "business blue" on the 318. (NETGEAR says that "business grey" is the new "business blue" for its SMB products.) The power switch is gone from the back of the 318G, but it still has an external power wall wart.
Figure 1: The FVS318G at work
Figure 2 below provides a listing of the front indicators.
Figure 2: Front panel indicators
Figure 3 shows the spartan back panel.
Figure 3: Rear panel
My test version came with firmware 3.0.5-25, which isn't released yet. So I downgraded it to the latest production firmware 3.0.5-24. I found the 318G's software very similar to the software on the NETGEAR FVS336G which I reviewed in January 2008.
The 318G's menu response seemed slower than the 336G's, which I assume is due to the processor differences between the two routers (more shortly).
The focus of this review will be to look at the 318G's strengths and what is new or different from previous models. Functionally, the 318G is more similar to the 336G than the FVS318, minus the 336G's dual WAN ports and SSL VPN capability. So I'll be making frequent comparisons between the 318G and 336G.
Internal Details
The photo below shows a Star (now Cavium) STR9102 as the "250 MHz" processor that NETGEAR specs, which is supported by 32 MB of RAM and 8 MB of flash.
Figure 4: FVS318G board
A Broadcom BCM53118 9-Port GbE Switch with 8 Integrated 10/100/1000 PHYs is hidden under the large heatsink and what appears to be a Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet PHY connected to the single router WAN port is under the smaller heatsink.
The 318G is midway between the 318 and 336G in terms of processor, RAM and flash as shown in Table 1.
| Component | FVS318 | FVS318G | FVS336G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Samsung S3C4510 | Star (Cavium) STR9102 | 300 MHz 32-bit RISC |
| RAM | 8 MB | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Flash | 2 MB | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| Switch | Broadcom BCM5317 | Broadcom BCM53118 | Vitesse? |
Table 1: Key component comparison
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User reviews
Average user rating from: 5 user(s)
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Two DOA
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Went through two of these and the GUI would not work reliably. Half the page would come up very slowly and the other half would get reset sockets. One status page showed what appeared to be a binary dump of application code. Tried upgrading the firmware through the GUI but it never worked. A packet sniff showed HTTP POST was being handled incorrectly by the router. Upgrading with TFTP worked but the GUI problems remained. I fought the broken GUI and got one semi-configured. For what I could turn on it seemed to do routing fine. The other had Ethernet problems with the uplink, which was a Netgear FVS336G. |
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25% Failure rate
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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 |
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Solid and Reliable
| I have owned this router for 7 months and it is rock solid. 7 out of the LAN ports are used; one as an AP (using Netgear's AP210) Had a bit of a challenge setting up my home server, but the netgear forums helped out here. Great VPN Firewall! I can honestly say it has never gone down, not even once. |
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Constant freeze-ups!
| Very nice UI, easy to configure, and good features, but unfortunately, ZERO reliability. The unit simply freezes constantly and has to be power-cycled, making it completely unsuitable for business use. We have been running it for 4 months now and the longest it's ever gone without a freeze-up is 9 days. We are in the process of replacing this unit. |
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PPTP pass through is lacking
| Despite the fact that PPTP is listed in the firewall settings I was unable to connect through to a server behind it. Might be fixed in a future firmware release but as of March 2010 it doesn't allow inbound PPTP connections to pass. |
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