avsrock90
join:2003-08-25
Berkeley, CA
 ·SONIC.NET
edit:
July 19th, @02:50PM
| Best ZyWall for my needs? 5 (UTM)? 2+?
Hello All,
Here's my situation:
I've inherited the IT[;)] responsibilities at a boarding house, and things currently just are not up to snuff. The wiring is just fine, in fact it was recently replaced. We currently have a DSL connection running into a Netgear WGR614 (the real issue). This router then runs into a netgear gigabit 24 port switch, which then runs into another netgear 16 port gigabit switch. Off of these switches run two additional wireless access points and all of the client computers. The router runs DHCP for anywhere between 15 and 25 users, depending on how full the house is. It constantly needs to be reset and simply can't handle the load that is put on it. Beyond that, we are really quite limited in the type of QoS that we can impose. VPN is not important for us. One person in the house might need to connect to a corporate VPN once a week. We don't need 35 tunnels.
So, this has led me to look at the ZyWall line of products. Some things that are important for us:
Robust DHCP
Relatively easy to use GUI
Content Filtering (we will be paying for bluecoat)
P2P Blocking (I'm not sure if this is a subscription as well, but if it blocks BT, we may pay for it as well, as BT hogs have been seriously degrading our network)
QoS in general (Doesn't have to be super advanced, but better than the netgear)
So, here are the assumptions that I have made / questions that I have based on ZyXel's website and some discussions I have read here:
-The 2+ might be a bit outmatched by our needs and is perhaps not as robust as the 5, for instance?
-The 2 WG is just the 2+ but with support for EVDO/HSDPA backups (won't be using this)?
--we've spent way too much money on pro-sumer junk routers and want to make sure we are getting something good this time
-There seems to be a UTM and non-UTM model of the ZyWall 5, though ZyXel's website seems to only show a UTM version.
--If there are two versions, what are the differences?
--Does the distinction have anything to do with the turbo card, which I also don't understand? (Reminds me of the memory upgrade for an N64)
--Will a turbo card be needed for Content Filtering or possible P2P blocking? Which version of the 5 would include this?
-Do the 5/35 have internal wireless antennas? The picture of Antennas is what drew me to the 2 WG initially, but it seems these are just to RECEIVE wireless connections.
-What does the addition of an extra LAN zone between the 35/5 do for us?
Finally, which would you recommend? Thanks for letting me ask so many questions DSLR experts, I really value your opinions! |
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Anav
Sarcastic Llama? Naw, Just Acerbic
Premium
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS | I would take a look at the zywall 70 Bbarrera has on for a really decent price and the accompanying Filtering card.
If you want to stop BT and the like you would need an additional IDP subscription. |
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stevech0
join:2006-09-17
San Diego, CA | reply to avsrock90
Consider DD-WRT on a WRT54GL? |
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Anav
Sarcastic Llama? Naw, Just Acerbic
Premium
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS
edit:
July 20th, @10:36AM
| reply to avsrock90
Can you confirm if your a clients are wireless, or a mix of wired and wireless.
EDIT: Nevermind, realized it is a continuation of another thread. LOL |
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