ZyXEL Home Firewall Router With 4 Port 10/100 Fast Ethenet Switch

by ZyXel

Product Details

Product Manual [5.34mb PDF]

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Data Sheet [2.41mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009U1BN
• Item model number: 91-003-140001
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,899 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 22, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

ZyXEL's Prestige 324 is an intelligent broadband sharing gateway with integrated firewall protection. This high performing security router can reach throughput rates of 28 Mbps, while simultaneously offering features such as Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), Denial of Service (DoS) and Access Control with scheduling. Additional value-added features include Dial Backup and Traffic Redirect, both of which enhance data transmission efficiency, and minimize costs associated with operation and maintenance. Security management is simplified with an intuitive Web management interface and easy-to-use administration wizard. A rich feature set combined into one compact unit makes the Prestige 324 the best and most affordable choice for residential and SOHO users.

Product Description

4 x 10/100Base-TX LAN, 1 x 10/100Base-TX WAN - Broadband Router

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't need VPN, this is the router/firewall to buy!, June 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: ZyXEL Home Firewall Router With 4 Port 10/100 Fast Ethenet Switch (Personal Computers)

ZyXEL makes a full line of VPN firewalls that go by the name ZyWALL, and are generally considered the best products out there for the SOHO and small business market that needs VPN (Virtual Private Network) communication with remote offices or individuals. The Prestige 324 is a full SPI firewall with a 4-port switch that provides virtually everything that their ZyWALL product line does, only without the VPN circuitry. As a result, it is perfectly suited to most home users that want industrial-strength security for their always-on DSL or cable connections. It supports X-Box, Instant Messenger, UPnP, and virtually every Internet game out there. If you want to, it also provides all the settings that you will need to set up servers, web sites, etc.

The firmware that controls the product is taken directly from their enterprise level products. Because of this, it is subjected to a level of testing and evaluation by networking professionals that no consumer product would ever get. As such, the product has evolved to be virtually "bullet-proof".

I've used, tested and discarded every competitive product that I could find while searching for one that actually did what the marketing people said it would, but there was always some fatal flaw. The search ended when I met with some networking professionals. They unanimously suggested that I leave the department store brands and get into a professional product, especially since it was actually less expensive than most of the consumer-quality products. Finally, it looks great too -- it's not just an old tin box that is better suited to a laboratory than a home. All-in-all, this is a winner!

Amazon.com seems to carry the product on an inconsistant basis, but when it's available, their price is generally the best around, if you get the free shipping. I have a few friends and relatives waiting for it to come back into stock so that they can order one for themselves.

1.0 out of 5 stars Dial Backup Completely Useless, July 30, 2008

By 

B. Harris (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ZyXEL Home Firewall Router With 4 Port 10/100 Fast Ethenet Switch (Personal Computers)

I purchased this product specifically for use in a situation wherein a dial-up connection must be shared (but not simultaneously) between two workstations. I had tried various other products, but most were too basic and did not allow the configuration needed.

The dial backup is, from what I can tell, completely useless on this device. I tried three different modems, and all achieved high connections speeds. For some bizarre reason, though, this device limited all dial-up traffic to atrocious speeds. Transfer speeds with this device never exceeded 1.5Kb/sec while the same modem connected to one of the other basic routers was consistently over 5Kb/sec.

It seems that the dial backup on devices like this is really just an afterthought which they never expect anyone to use and which they never optimize or even verify.

4.0 out of 5 stars Zyxtel Router, September 26, 2005

By 

William C. Bowblis (Somerville, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ZyXEL Home Firewall Router With 4 Port 10/100 Fast Ethenet Switch (Personal Computers)

I had some problems getting it to communicate with our cable modem at first. Had to reboot the modem to get everything working, but it has been working fine since then except when I made a setting change on the router, I had to reboot it to regain modem communication. As long as I leave it alone, it seems reliable. The router it replaced kept losing the broadband connection. LAN connections have been flawless.