NETGEAR ProSafe Dual Band Wireless VPN Firewall reviewed



Setup

Even though the FWAG is based on an entirely different processor platform, its user interface is pretty much the same as its siblings the FR114P [reviewed here] and FM114P [reviewed here]. Opening the router's default address of 192.168.0.1 for the first time brings you to the same Setup Wizard used on those products. The Wizard will auto-detect the type of connection you have and present you with the appropriate Internet connection configuration options.

If you're a do-it-yourself kinda person, you can also set the WAN connection up manually. All the usual suspects for WAN connection types are supported, along with BigPond cable and PPTP. Note that static IPs are supported for PPTP, but not PPPoE.

During bootup the FWAG automatically checks a NTP server (you can specify the IP address of your favorite one, or just use the default one) for the correct time once it gets connected to the Internet. The only thing you have to do is set your Time Zone and whether your location observes Daylight Savings time.

The overall interface responsiveness was good with screens coming up quickly, but many changes required a 30-second-plus reboot cycle.

Remote Management can be enabled (it's off by default), and you can set the port used and restrict access to a single IP address or range of addresses if you like. I especially liked that remote management sessions are automatically redirected to a secure (https) connection once you succefully login. The FWAG does not allow multiple administrator logins at a time and tells the second would-be administrator the IP address and computer name of the current admin. NETGEAR has thoughtfully provided both a admin log-out function and the ability to change the time for auto-logout of an inactive admin session from its default of 5 minutes.