The ProSafe VPN Firewalls from NETGEAR are 1U or desktop appliances that provide combined firewall, VPN tunnel connectivity, and routing for SMBs or branch offices (up to 253 users on the LAN for all models; and up to 200 simultaneous VPN tunnels, depending on the model). Each provides a built-in switch with 4 or 8 ports for LAN connectivity. With the exception of the FVS124G, FVX538, and the new FVS336G the switch ports are all 10/100 Ethernet (the FVS124G includes 4 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports; the FVX538 offers 8 10/100 and a single Gigabit Ethernet LAN port; and the FVS336G offers quad Gb LAN and dual Gb WAN ports). Both wired and wireless (with a built-in access point) versions of the VPN Firewalls are available. Additionally, each contains a 10/100 WAN port; with the FVS124G, FVX538, and FVS336G boasting dual WAN ports with failover.

Features common to all VPN Firewall models include the stateful packet inspection firewall; IPSec VPN tunneling support (the number of simultaneous tunnels supported depends on the model); support for digital certificates; and support for URL keyword filtering. Three of the models--the FVS338, FVX538, and the FWG114P include serial ports.

Currently available models in the ProSafe VPN Firewall range include:

- FVS114: With a 4 port LAN switch and support for up to 8 VPN tunnels.

- FVS318: With an 8 port LAN switch and support for up to 8 VPN tunnels.

- FVS124G: With a 4 port LAN switch (10/100/1000) and support for up to 25 VPN tunnels. The FVS124G additionally supports SNMP management and includes a single license for the vendor's VPN client software.

- FVS338: With an 8 port LAN switch and support for up to 50 VPN tunnels. Like the FVS124G, the FVS338 additionally supports SNMP management and includes a single license for the vendor's VPN client software.

- FVS328: With an 8 port LAN switch and support for up to 100 VPN tunnels.

- FVX538: With an 8 port LAN switch and support for up to 200 VPN tunnels. The FVX538 additionally supports SNMP management, hardware DMZ, and includes 5 licenses for the vendor's VPN client software.

- FVS336G: The newest entry in the product line. The FVS336G is an all-Gigabit port (10/100/1000) appliance, including 4 LAN ports and dual WAN ports that can be configured in load balancing or failover modes. Additionally, the appliance supports both IPSec (25 tunnels) and SSL (10 tunnels) VPN connectivity simultaneously.

- FWG114P: Wireless router with a 4 port LAN switch and 802.11b/g connectivity. Supports 2 simultaneous VPN tunnels.

- FVG318: Wireless router with an 8 port LAN switch and 802.11g connectivity. Supports 8 simultaneous VPN tunnels and SNMP (v2c) management.

- DGFV338B: Wireless router with 8 port LAN switch and support for up to 50 IPSec tunnels. The DGFV338B boasts an integrated ADSL2+ modem.

Also available from the vendor is the ProSafe SSL VPN Concentrator; as its name suggests it offers SSL-based VPN connectivity to the corporate network requiring only a Web browser on the client computer. The initial entry in this line, the SSL312, supports up to 25 simultaneous VPN connections and include features such as automatic client cache cleaning at the end of the session, logging support, user authentication via A/D, LDAP, or RADIUS, and support for interoperation with external firewalls (including, of course, the above VPN Firewall line).

The NETGEAR ProSafe VPN Firewalls are available now. The new FVS336G is priced at $425 (list).

Contact NETGEAR or visit their site for further details.