The Linksys line of VPN gear ranges from a four 10/100 port device to the latest offering with four 10/100/1000 ports. All provide built-in switching capabilities (for the direct connection of PCs or expansion through additional switches) and support for VPN connectivity; the latest module supporting IPsec (branch-to-branch) and SSL VPN (from remote workers) connections.

Features in common to the devices include a stateful packet inspection firewall; QoS features; and security features including IP address filtering. Management is via a Web browser-based utility.

Current offerings in the Linksys VPN/Router line include:

- RV042/RV082/RV016: These routers provide 4, 8 and 16 10/100 ports respectively; and support VPN connectivity from 30 (42) or 50 (16/82) remote workers. The router can serve as a DHCP server, and can additionally be configured to filter internal user access to the Internet.

A key feature of the RV0 offerings is their support for redundant Internet connections. The RV042 and RV082 each contain a pair of ports for Internet connectivity; the second port can be used as a backup Internet connection, or both can be used simultaneously with the router automatically balancing requests between them. The RV016 extends this capability; in that up to 7 of the 10/100 ports can be used as Internet connections (in the RV016, dual dedicated Internet ports are provided, as is a DMZ port; up to 5 of the remaining 13 ports can be used as additional Internet ports).

- RVL200: One of the newer offerings, the RVL200 boasts 4 10/100 ports and supports VPN connectivity from remote users (SSL) or in branch to branch connections (IPsec) with other Linksys VPN routers. Up to 5 SSL connections are supported, as is a single IPsec connection to another router. The four ports can be mapped to up to 16 VLANs; a DMZ is configurable on any of the four ports.

- RVS4000: The other new entry in the product line. The RVS4000 has 4 10/100/1000 ports, and supports 5 remote VPN connections (IPsec) from either remote users or in branch-to-branch connections. IDS/IPS network intrusion detection/protection services are included (signature updates are provided free for the first year) and user-defined ACLs are supported. SNMP (v1/v2c) is also supported.

Other current entries in the Linksys VPN router line include the USB VPN and Firewall Adapter; and a pair of Wireless-G VPN routers.

Estimated street pricing for the new models is $129 (RVL200) and $199 (RVS4000). Visit the Linksys Web site for further information.

product submission by ENPlanet Staff

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