ZyXEL ZyWALL USG50 Internet Security Firewall with Dual-WAN, 4 Gigabit LAN / DMZ Ports, 5 IPSec VPN, SSL VPN, and 3G WAN Support ZyXEL ZyWALL USG50 Internet Security Firewall with Dual-WAN, 4 Gigabit LAN / DMZ Ports, 5 IPSec VPN, SSL VPN, and 3G WAN Support

Pros: This is the best router I have ever used - it has the ability to configure multi-WAN, VLANs, hardware based VPN, and has active content filtering and virus scan at the hardware level. It has state of the art monitoring and logging and is extremely configurable with routes, load balancing, etc.

Cons: Unfortunately, today after running great for 3 weeks the unit has stopped functioning. The WAN incoming data has a huge latency and is connecting/disconnecting and the load balancer is failing. After extensive troubleshooting of the individual WANs and the router, it appears the ZyXel has crapped out. I'm hoping it was just a lemon - I'm RMAing for a fresh out. Fingers crossed...

Other Thoughts: For a small business customer looking to content filter, monitor data, configure VPN, configure VLANs, setup custom routing, etc, this is an amazing router and much cheaper than Cisco $2,000+ comparable routers.

Pros: - great price
- chock full o' features
- configurability out the wazoo
- reasonable VPN and A/V licensing prices
- abundant ports
- NOT a Cisco

Cons: The interface is wacky to say the least. While I am no network guru, I work with Cisco and Procurve network gear on a daily basis. And while I would say the same about Cisco's arcane configuration and terminology, the web GUI on this thing is just laid out strange and it definitely takes some tinkering to get the more advanced features such as AD auth and VPN to work. The other thing is that I could never get the firewall set so that the default rule was to drop packets vs. rejecting them, which consequently left every single port in a "filtered" state in a nmap scan. I'm sure I was doing something wrong, but honestly I don't have time to figure out one more vendor's arcane way of doing things.

Other Thoughts: If you've got time on your hands to read the documentation, fiddle, go back to the documentation, then fiddle some more, then it's definitely a good buy. Me, I'm going back to pfSense.

Pros: EXTREME CUSTOMIZATION!! I have configured certain protocols or websites to route through one WAN connection or the other, block XBOX Live or Playstation Network during specific times, etc. etc. etc. If you have a need for protocol or IP routing requirements this is the device to have. For the price, the features cannot be beaten. Logging and capture features are epic, I've identified bots hitting my networks every 2-3 hours along with malicious attacks with ease. I've also used the frame/packet capture feature to identify faulty and malfunctioning equipment on my network causing congestion and other issues. All-in-all, the best networking device purchase I've made.

Cons: Learning curve to set up, it's definitely not your average Netgear or Linksys box. My advice, set up all your IP addresses, services, and groups under "Objects" before you even go into setting up NAT/Firewall or policy routing. Once you configure all the "Objects" you need setting up new rules, policies, etc. is very easy and straight forward.

Other Thoughts: This firewall has by far improved my networks performance as well as the ability to customize connections and routing policies. With this device I've been able to

For those worried about Xbox/PSN connections: You do HAVE to set up a firewall rule to allow the Xbox Live and PSN ports to your devices. This is a true FIREWALL, not a Linksys or Netgear "firewall" that auto-allows symmetrical connections/traffic.

Pros: Excellent feature set, performance and value, especially as a Cisco alternative.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Recently installed. Will have a better value judgement after 1 year of service.

Pros: Many features, LAN worked with almost default settings, VPN took longer, figuring out Comcast gateway was harder, contacted Zyxel support, US based true IT person took care of everything in few minutes, L2TP over IPSEC is free, 2 SSL VPN included, (worked out of the box), additional are cheap,

Cons: VPN setup may require calling them, give them access, few minutes and done

Pros: Got this in place of a CISCO FW device that was returned. Found that it has more features and capabilities than the CISCO FW I returned.
Includes Subscription services for Antivirus, Spam, Intrustion Detection/Protection and Content Filtering from either ZeXel or major players.
Setup is easy, just plug in the Internet connection (from your DSL/Cable model or T1) and it automatically configures it on the WAN port (which ther are 2).
Plug in your other devices (I use a switch for more ports) to either LAN1, LAN2 or DMZ which are all configurable.
Now your ready to go.
Next you can set up your firewall rules, external VPNs and LANs any way you want. This beast has huge throughput....

Cons: Only thing I can say bad is that when the trial subscriptions run out, they remain a part of your configuration (minus 1 egg). Currently support says there is no way to remove them

Other Thoughts: I have had good experiance with their support (US based) and have learn some of the devices unique caharteristics, which all have. In the beginning, I reviewed the logs frequently and found the FW caught quite a bit. Now, I just let it send the log via email and don't worry.
Prior to this I was hit with viruses and trojans on a weekly basis, since, I have not had any issue get to my internal devices.

Pros: Killer all round - options out of your options. But like any reviews prior not for the faint of heart or average plug n play user. Some time and learning is required, on-line and forum referances but once you have an understanding its a wonderful thing.

Cons: N/A

Other Thoughts: Got it for $165 on Sale - well worth that and even current price. Highly recommend.

Pros: Complete feature set
Very fast
Easy to use, thorough, and searchable help system
Console access via DB9

Cons: Steep learning curve
Not recommended for non-technical users

Other Thoughts: I've never purchased a ZyXEL product, and I've only owned this one a few weeks. Ergo, I can't comment intelligently on how durable they are over the long run. Also, I'm a programmer with a fair amount of depth, and I've configured my share of networks, but those have mostly been small business and home setups. This machine is close(r) to an enterprise-class device, with a feature set to match, and that made it a bit of a challenge for me to figure out (on the order of a few hours over a couple of days.)

That being said, the USG50 is a deeply impressive device, esp. for the price. I bought it because I moved my office into my house, and needed more advanced routing than our Airport Extreme had to offer. The help system is *very*, thorough and easy to use; access to instructions specific to the settings you're configuring is a one-click operation throughout every window in the system. The help database is also searchable, which turns out to be very handy. And despite the fact that the ZyXEL does stateful packet inspection, it's still noticeably faster than the Airport was.

The feature set is so substantial, I'm not even going to try to get into it. Because of the complexity of the product, however, I definitely would not recommend it to someone who didn't have a fair amount of previous experience configuring routers and firewalls.

Pros: Easily configured, excellent capability for both simple and complex network configurations. Whether you're a hardcore network engineer or just someone looking to secure a home network propertly, this is your device. I've been through four such appliances, and this is by far the best. (don't even think of going Dlink - terrible config)

Cons: Subscriptions to IDP and AntiX are a little on the pricey side for the home user, but well worth it. First week it caught a rather nasty bug that no other system, including MS Security Essentials, would catch.

Pros: Don't know...was supposed to arrive 12-28, while I was OFF work

Cons: UPS fails again, 6 day delay with it sitting at UPS 100 miles away
It should show up when I've returned to work and no one is around to receive it (this MAY even result in a delay of several more days if UPS won't leave it)

Other Thoughts: Getting to be too big of a pain dealing with UPS...probably my last Newegg order (and Newegg is OK, just not UPS)