CNET Editor's rating: 7.2 out of 10
Reviewed by
Patrick Unnold
Review date: 12/04/03
Release date: 10/01/03
The good: SPI firewall; 802.11b/g Wi-Fi certified; external antenna; excellent throughput; Dynamic DNS support; three-year warranty.
The bad: WPA currently unavailable; lacks WDS support; expensive.
The bottom line: Netgear's FWG114P is a great all-in-one device for those planning to set up a home office.
Editors' note: The rating and/or Editors' Choice designation for this product has been altered since the review's original publication. The reason for this is simply the general improvement of technology over time. In order to keep our ratings fair and accurate, it's sometimes necessary to downgrade the ratings of older products relative to those of newer products. (3/17/04)
Netgear's FWG114P wireless firewall print server delivers solid performance and the right array of features. Its integrated access point, firewall, and print server are all easy to set up on any platform using a standard Web browser, making the Netgear wireless firewall a good choice regardless of whether you're networking Linux, Apple, or Windows machines. The only real downside to this product is its lack of WPA (for wireless security) and WDS (for wireless scalability), both of which are part of the Buffalo AirStation's feature set. Still, the Netgear wireless firewall makes up for these shortcomings with superb Internet security, extensive logging, Dynamic DNS support, and automatic failover to a dial-up connection. We think it's worth the expensive price tag for SOHO and advanced home users who need more than the typical home router.
10 out of 10 - Perfect How I configured the print server to work with my multifunction
I got this combo router to replace my previous Netgear WGT624 v2, which was giving me problems. After buying this ...
I got this combo router to replace my previous Netgear WGT624 v2, which was giving me problems. After buying this unit to hook up my HP PSC 2110v all-in-one to my network, I figured out what thye problem was with the previous router--it didn't recognize my Dynamic IP Address properly. But the FWG114P did. The netwqork was easy to setup, but then the problem cropped up. I couldn't get my printer to worki with the print server. I tried installing it as a plug-and-play printer, imnstalling the printer port driver, and then changing the port in the printer propoerties dialog to the netgear printer port. But that didn't work. Then I found that I could get it to work through a convoluted way of prevewnting the computer from deleting the printer after changing its port to the netgear port. This inspired me to keep at it, and I found the surprisingly easy solution quite soon after. In order to use my multifunction with the print server, I: 1) Installed it as if I would be using it as ir normally had been configured, to be connected directly via USB to my computer. (The purpose of this was to get its driver listed under the "driver" list accesible from the "advanced" tab listed in "printer properties". 2) Deleted the printer from the "Printers and Faxes" window. (Right-click on the printer and select "Delete".) 3) Installed the Netgear printer port software and added the port. 4) Physically connected the printer via USB to the Netgear FWG114P. 5) Ran the "add printer wizard" from the "Printers and Faxes" window and selected the netgear print server port and proper driver. (If you do not see the proper driver listed, you did not completely install the printer in step 1.) 6) After the printer had been added, I made sure that the proper driver ("HP PSC 2100 series" for me) was selected in the driver list on the advanced tab in the HP's printer properties. 7) Select "Print a Test Page" from the "Printer Properties" menu's "General" tab. if it prints a legible page, you're all set to print from the computer you added the network printer to. Note that this process must be repeated for each computer you want to use to print through the FWG114P.
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by amarrao (see profile) -
August 6, 2005
6 out of 10 - Good Sticking to basics OK, but certain things don't work.
Very easy setup, good logging, wireless range is good. Would hang when dial-up modem connected(for dial backup), and when ...
Very easy setup, good logging, wireless range is good. Would hang when dial-up modem connected(for dial backup), and when used as a VPN endpoint with a SonicWALL appliance, would not allow WAN access for web browsing, etc. If you rely on a VPN, compatability should be checked before keeping this router.
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by chuckk9032 (see profile) -
February 9, 2006
10 out of 10 - Perfect got refurbished v1 today - absolutely perfect
Today I received a refurbished unit from an ebay seller. Took me about 2 hours to disconnect the old router, ...
Today I received a refurbished unit from an ebay seller. Took me about 2 hours to disconnect the old router, read the Netgear information, connect everything, upgrade the routers firmware (had it downloaded already) and key in my old values. Even the print server is utterly delightful if a bit slow. Doesn't get any better for me. :o)
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by maddirk (see profile) -
August 2, 2005
5 out of 10 - Average Expensive and Buggy + Missing Features
I would look elsewhere when trying to find a solid solution for your network. This router has nice features but ...
I would look elsewhere when trying to find a solid solution for your network. This router has nice features but the control panel hardly lets you configure them and if you have a large network (10 - 15 computers) to manage it simply loses megabytes of bandwith as you attach more devices.
The wireless range is pathetic and I ended up having to purchase an access point to fill in the empty area that it couldn't cover.
The lousy firewall configuration causes congestion on the lan when applications with lots of up/down internet traffic are open.
Updated I spent some time on the phone today with tech support regarding a new bug someone helped me discover. Apparently the router is ignoring port forwarding rules for my IRC server and is continuing to block them.
Hopefully after netgear engineers look at the problem we will get a firmware update and no longer will this thing be so buggy.
2 out of 10 - Terrible Poor VPN function - worse support
Box to box VPN using two FWG114Ps is not reestablished when router looses WAN connection or is rebooted. Short of ...
Box to box VPN using two FWG114Ps is not reestablished when router looses WAN connection or is rebooted. Short of deleting old IKE/VPN policies and reentering parameters, no way of reestablishing the connection has been suggested by technical support. Remote management of router is problematic as it will eventually timeout and stop serving configuration pages.
Technical support is very poor. Support personnel seem to have little to no knowledge of this product and after opening 7 unresolved support cases, still persist in suggesting resolutions which have already been tried without success. Support cases are closed without any resolution.
Use this product only if no other choices of VPN routers are available.
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by jrwirt (see profile) -
March 14, 2005
In the Editor Review it's clearly stated "...
This is my preliminary rating which I expect to improve upon purchase.
In the Editor Review it's clearly stated "WPA currently unavailable". This product has WPA as does most of its predecessors (here's the link, read for yourselves: http://www.netgear.com/products/details/FWG114P.php#safe). WPA has been available in Netgear units for years now.
I guess the editor was asleep when he covered this portion of the FWG114P specifications.
My experience with Netgear has been great. I do not find their products difficult to install or manage. I am currently using an FM144P and have been for about 2 years. The primary difference between these 2 units is this newer FWG114P has G technology (as opposed to B) and has the VPN capability. I look forward to trying it.
The 2 offices I work out of have a DLink unit in one office and Linksys in the other. I/we have had problems with both units particularly in regard to signal of one unit (problems in the 10-40 foot range and out).
I am perfectly satisfied with my cousin to this unit and plan on a FW114G in our new office and to upgrage my existing FM114P. I certainly don't mind paying a few dollars more more for a product with added features and performance. It's sure better than buying a cheap model and being let down.
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