We're contemplating using the Netgear FVX538 as it's considerably more cost effective than a WatchGaurd / SonicWall / Cisco solution. Is it any good though ? We need to plug about 200 users into it (email/browsing/etc. only), and 4 file servers.
Is the netgear support any good ? Or am I creating a problem for myself ?
I have the 538 younger brother FVS338. It has been a good router with some firmware issues. These issues have been resolved with beta software. Netgear only gives you 90 days of free phone tech support. There level 2 and 3 techs are good. The firewall has been good in my 338, no issues.
The 538 has a powerful xscale cpu and a good amount of ram. If you are planing on using the router for your proxy filter, may not be a good choice.
It supports the number of users with out any problems.
Are you planning on using the dual WAN port for load balancing or 1 for www and the other to your servers?
Will you be using VPN? The VPN wizards work fine on my 328 a long with their client software. Use it instead of ftp when I need access to my NAS boxes.
The 538 is just a fraction of what you will pay for the sonicwall/sisco setup.
We're not planning on using the VPN support or the dual load balancing. We don't have/need a DMZ.
What we really need is a decent firewall, with robust DHCP services, and the ability to block out p2p, and other bandwidth hogging apps (unless they're running over port 80).
The current (2.0) firmware has a memory leak that Netgear refuses to fix. Their solution is for me to reboot my router every 24 hrs. (I have FVX 538's, v1 and v.2 hardware, 338 and 318. All exhibit the memory leak behavior and if you use VPN tunnels between routers, you have to reboot every 24 hours. (about 3-4 days w/o using the VPN).
The tech support is possibly the worst on the planet. They refuse to pass information up the channel and constantly try and solve the problem with the same idiotic canned answers. 3rd tier support simply refuses to call back, never keeps appointments for trouble shooting and lies about the extent of the problem (everyone who upgrades has this problem).
FYI, if you don't upgrade there are multiple other issues (such as hung static routes and vpn incompatibility).
I’ve been a system admin for 20 years, I’m very proficient at networking and routing; and this has been the worst piece of tech I've ever had the misfortune to use.
