Zyxel USG100 Unified Security Gateway Review

[lleo19]

Thanks for this review, I can't wait to read the second part.

from the interior picture of the appliance I infer that there are no fans in this firewall/router? can you confirm that please?

Thanks, Lleo19

[thiggins]

Originally Posted by lleo19

from the interior picture of the appliance I infer that there are no fans in this firewall/router?

Correct. No fans.

[lleo19]

Great, thanks Tim!

OK, so the second part of the review was posted, but I missed it.

(Note-to-self: post an improvement suggestion, that references in multi-part articles be made in both ways, not just retrospectively, i.e.pointing to the first part in the review, but add a link in the first part that points to the second, etc.)

The review does not seem to be complete though, there is mentioning of listing annual cost for various subscriptions as well as throughput impact of various services enabled.

[thiggins]

Originally Posted by lleo19

OK, so the second part of the review was posted, but I missed it.

Part 2 is now properly posted. I accidentally overwrite Part 1 with a partial Part 2 earlier. All fixed now. Sorry for the error!

Excellent review.

This looks like the most promising ssl-vpn; dual wan; and extremely reliable router in the market. Too bad about the limitations for VISTA laptops on the road. It is a show stopper for us.

We believe that we can handle the low bandwidth limitations for now, however, it is apparent that it will be come obsolete as broadband connections improve in speed over time.

We'll be looking for the VISTA support and will reconsider at that point.

Thanks

[bbarrera]

Great review. I'm using the USG300, the big brother of USG100 and it has a faster CPU (Freescale MPC8347e up to 667MHz) and offers better performance. I didn't see mention of the ASCII config files or Cisco-like command-line interface for configuration, both of which are nice features.

Regarding VPN interoperability, I've got VPN tunnel between USG300 and Sonicwall SOHO3. It was easy to setup.

[jmpage2]

I'm very interested in this unit and am surprised I have not found more insightful reviews like this one anywhere on the Internet.

This is pretty much the only SSL capable VPN for under $500 that has the additional security features it boasts as well as gigabit network switch connection speeds (important if you are wiring it to a legacy switch that will slow down when connected at 100MB).

Apparently the Vista SSL support is currently available with Beta firmware on the unit and it is expected that the firmware is going to be GA in the next month or two.

I have had no end of frustration in trying to get VPN clients working with the Linksys RV042 that I procured for my wife's small office and am starting to realize that going cheap has its downfalls, especially with VPN. As I don't desire getting a 2nd VPN concentrator at home and would like her to be able to roadwarrior in to the office from anywhere (if she's at a conference, etc) as well as getting NETBIOS to work over the VPN, I think that the SSL connection that the USG100 offers is solid gold.

I would just like to see a few more reviews (and maybe a $50 price drop) before making the plunge!!

Thanks for the review and sorry for the super late comments!