Cisco-Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G VPN Router

by Cisco

Product Details

Product Manual [2.56mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 3.2 x 9.6 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000AR8Z1
• Item model number: WRV54G
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,672 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 3, 2004

Product Description

Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G 54Mbps VPN Broadband Router all-in-one Internet-sharing Router 4-Port 10/100Mbps Switch and 54Mbps 802.11G Access Point with Built-in VPN endpoint capability and advanced security features.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars VPN functionality doesn't quite work..., May 18, 2004

By 

Dennis Mabrey (Whitehouse Station, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G VPN Router (Personal Computers)

I bought this item from Amazon even though the reviews I read were less than stellar. I just assumed most of the problems were user configuration errors. After all.... it is easy to mess up a VPN configuration, especially if you are using Windows IPSEC policies because the UI for setting that up can be a little misleading.

However after setting it up in my home lab I discovered that... it just didn't work as a VPN device. I connect with a VPN client called SSH Sentinel (it is a little dated but works on every other VPN I have used). I could get a connection fine but it refused to route traffic inside the LAN at all. Even setting up the route recommended by Linksys it still would not work.

So I decided not to give up yet and searched out Google groups for people who have solved this issue and I found... no one. Everyone complained at the constant problems with each firmware release and the inability to VPN into the router properly. I was surprised because quite frankly all the other linksys hardware I have work great. I rarely have any problems with their print server, kvm switches and other routers... why in the world would Linksys drop the ball on this product.

Well it seems this particular router is different than any of Linksys's other routers because it is running an embedded version of Linux. It would seem that Linksys and this Linux vendor are having some big difficulties getting this thing to work and perhaps it got pushed out the door too soon.

Well I went out and bought a cheaper BEFVP41 VPN router from Linksys (it is not wireless but I had a spare WAP-G) and I was able to get a VPN connection the first time.

So.. if you buy this router to VPN into your home network you will have some serious problems. I also had some flaky wireless problems with it but I must admit... after reading all the problems with this model I put the thing back in the box and bought something else that works...

I hope this isn't the end of Linksys putting out good products and being responsive to their clients...

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Had major issues trying to use this router, November 8, 2003

By 

Steven Cagney "montee4" (Roselle, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G VPN Router (Personal Computers)

I currently have a WRT54G wireless 54G router and wanted to upgrade to the WRV54g for the VPN feature.

The minute I plugged in the WRV54G I had problems. I have a WPC54G Wireless PC card, a WET54G Wireless Bridge, and a WMA11B Wireless media adapter (all Linksys products) that all work great with my WRT54G router. The only client I could get to work with the WRV54G was my wireless pc card. I never was able to figure out why. since every client had the exact same configuration when working with my WRT54G.

I also had an issue with my FTP server. When an outside machine would connect, the router would lose internet access and then would have to be rebooted.

I was never able to get the VPN working either. The directions are very confusing and there are too many variables that can cause an issue and it is very hard to troubleshoot.

My recommendation is to stick to the WRT54G wireless router until Linksys gets some updated firmware to fix these problems.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm glad my boss is willing to take risks, October 13, 2005

By 

Watson (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRV54G Wireless-G VPN Router (Personal Computers)

So, I was really against this product. The reviews were terrible for it. But there was a couple of reviews which claimed that the product did ok with the new firmware release. So... my boss was wanted VPN, wireless so he decided to get this router anyway despite the reviews. I was against this.

So...I got it, installed it. The vpn server was easy as sin to setup. As long as you have a static ip address, and know a little bit about networking you should be fine. The vpn at first had non - reliable connectivity. However, that turned out to be our ISP (satellite connection), and since we've got a new ISP (DSL) everything works perfect. The vpn is great, easy and having wireless is nice too. I had the vpn server downloading things for 3 hours without any connectivity issues.

This router is being used for a small business of about ten machines under it. Just FYI. Works great. Hasn't died yet (1 month)

Hope this helps. Oh, latest firmware a must.