Question 1

Does this unit have a fan? Is it loud?

Accepted Answer

There is a small fan.  I only hear it when I'm doing a power cycle and the unit is first powering up.  I don't use it in a large enough environment to push the CPU usage, so mine never gets hot enough to turn the fan on.  I have my firewall on my desk.  If the fan were on regularly, I would find it annoying.  But as I mentioned earlier, I don't do anything that really heats up the CPU for the fan to turn on.  However with that being said, if you want to be sure of no noise, then you could go with the USG40W, which is the next model up.  The USG40W uses a large heatsink and no fan.  The USG40W is also a much more powerful and versatile firewall as well.  I really liked my USG20W, but I love my USG40W.

Question 2

How much is the Bluecoast subscription for Content Filtering? How much is the antivirus protection? I am most interested in Content Filtering ability and can't find any answers on this anywhere.

Accepted Answer

My apologies, I just realized the question was about the USG20W, and I had the USG40W on my mind.  Anti-virus is not available for the USG20W.  If you want anti-virus you need to move up to the USG40W.  The information I gave before is still valid.  You need to go to ZyXEL's website, and go to the USG20W (Unified Security Gateway) information page.  Then select the "Security Licenses" page.  There it will show you the pricing and purchase information for the Blue Coat Content Filter, Commtouch Content Filter, and the Commtouch Anti-Spam licenses.  One year is the only duration available for the licenses.  I believe that the licenses on the USG20W marry to the serial number, just like they do on the USG40W.  If that's the case, then what ZyXEL told me about the licenses being non-transferrable on the USG40W (other than in the case of warranty exchanges) probably still holds true.

Since you asked about anti-virus, the USG40W is an awesome firewall.  I had the USG20W for two years.  I upgraded to the USG40W about two months ago.  The USG40W has anti-virus, content filtering, intrusion detection prevention (IDP), and anti-spam UTM services available.  I like my USG20W very much, but my USG40W is leaps and bounds better.  More powerful, more control, more setup options, stronger WiFi range, and the additional UTMs make a much more powerful firewall.  So far I have found the content filtering and the IDP to be very useful on the USG40W.

Question 3

is it compatible with a Netgear R6300 router?

Accepted Answer

I've used the USG20W and USG40W with various Netgear switches.  I just needed to plug them in, and that was it.  Nothing else was required, and they worked flawlessly.  I did not specifically use a Netgear R6300 though.

Question 4

Which of its features are only usable with subscriptions or licenses? And how much do those cost?

Accepted Answer

There are only two licensed services available for the USG20W.  They are content filtering and anti-spam.  The anti-spam is only useful if you host your own e-mail server.  Each license is a 1-year subscription.  The pricing information is on the ZyXEL website.  Go to their corresponding product page and then go to the "Security Licenses" tab.  All of the information will be there.

Question 5

Can you block stuff like P2P,torrents, etc with this and does it have decent client monitoring and per client policies?

Accepted Answer

I'm not 100% sure how to answer your question due to the fact that I'm not really sure I know how to set that up. What I do know is that this router replaced three I had set up in before and out performs all of them. I have separate WiFi for each of my kids and can monitor and adjust for each age. We have 6 members in a fully automated house with 11 cameras and several wireless devices and remote access to all and this router handles it with relative ease. I recommend looking up the owners manual in PDF form its about 900 pages long and should answer all of your questions. In short whatever your needs are I'd recommend this router. Hope this helps

Question 6

Can this handle multiple SSID's?  Example, public and private wireless networks.

Accepted Answer

Jon,

Yes, it does.   You can setup multiple SSID's on there.

Question 7

Hi,

Will this work with both Mac and Pc on same network? If so will also work on VPN side with both?

Accepted Answer

Yes, i use both macs, ipads, and PCs
Should support VPN, however, this unit does require very good understanding of firewall administration.  All connection have to be explicitly configured.  Not a novice product: i am used to checkpoint admin UI, and this is more nested and logic on menu system is a little disjointed.  
Product is reliable, have not had any issues since install.  Also configuring Vonage (VOIP) is tricky and will require good understanding  of the latency and traffic prioritization.

Question 8

I have a new office with wired and wireless devices but my only internet for the next few months is a Verizon mifi (MHS291L). Is there a way (bridge/client mode?) for my devices to connect to this then have this connect to the mifi?

Accepted Answer

I am not 100 percent certain but I would say there is no way to connect a mifi wireless device to this device and share it.

But since I am not tech support for ZyXel I am not 100 percent sure.

ZyXel is best to ask.

good luck

Questions & Answers