Cisco RVS4000 4-port Gigabit Security Router - VPN

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.5 x 2.8 inches ; 11.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GQXFUK
• Item model number: RVS4000
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Networking Products > Routers

• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 9, 2006

Product Description

From the manufacturer

From the manufacturer Cisco’s RVS4000 Gigabit Security Router enables your small business employees to safely connect to the resources they need to be productive. It delivers affordable, highly secure network access and switching capabilities at broadband speed, with strong security features to help keep your network and business assets safe. An integrated Gigabit Ethernet switch allows you to share high-speed connectivity for up to four devices in the office without installation difficulties or complex configurations to worry about. You’ll be able to tap into secure, wired networking within minutes of connecting the device into your infrastructure.

Lit-up signals on the front of the router help you check the status of connected devices.

Connect up to four devices into your new gigabit infrastructure.

Remote Connectivity
IP Security (IPsec) VPN capabilities built into the RVS4000 enable up to five employees working from home or on the road to connect to your office network. They can use nearly any VPN client to access files and transfer data as securely as if they were in the office, thanks to the router’s integrated security and encryption protocols.

Effective Security
Unlike standard firewalls, which block incoming streams based only on the source or type of data, the router’s proven stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewall with intrusion prevention system scans deep. This allows it to detect and block most worms, Trojan horses, and denial-of-service attacks, keeping your critical business assets safe from harm. The router’s ability to split connected devices into four active virtual LANs allows you to better manage your network’s security and traffic. Isolate mission-critical network clients from the generalized computers on your network to prevent a single compromised PC from affecting the resources and files that make up the core of your business.

Cisco's RVS4000 router includes a variety of protective features to keep your network and resources harm-free. And if a problem manages to sneak in, you can isolate the affected system from others.

Secure Networking
An optional hosted security service adds another layer of protection by scanning email and websites to help fight spam, viruses, and other web threats. The Trend Micro ProtectLink Gateway Security Service integrates powerful antispam, antiphishing, URL content filtering, and website-reputation assessment to block potential email and web-based attacks before they can do damage to your infrastructure. ProtectLink Gateway is a hosted service, which means that there are no additional hardware requirements nor complicated installation routines to worry about prior its integration into your network operations.

Simple Configuration
All of these features can be configured using a simple browser-based utility. The RVS4000 is designed to minimize the time necessary for installation and administration. Plug the router into your network, attached your connected clients, spend minimal time setting up the features, and you’ll be ready to access your business resources on the backbone of a brand-new gigabit infrastructure.

Features include:

• Secure, high-speed network access for small businesses
• Built-in 4-port Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) switch for plug-and-go connectivity
• Full IPsec VPN capabilities enable up to five remote connections
• Optional Trend Micro ProtectLink Gateway Security Service keeps your network safe
• A 3-year limited hardware warranty and 90-day limited software warranty

What’s in the Box

• RVS4000 4-port Gigabit Security Router: VPN
• Network Cable
• Power Adapter
• Stands
• Quick Install Guide
• User Guide and QuickVPN Client Software on CD-ROM

Product Description

As broadband speeds increase most 10/100 gateways do not have the power to support those higher data rates, and thus become the bottleneck in the network. The RVS4000 10/100/1000 4-Port VPN Router works at Gigabit speeds to meet the demands of todays networks. It features Linksys proven SPI Firewall with an integrated Intrusion Detection and Prevent System (IDS/IPS). Its built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100/1000 Ethernet switch can connect up four PCs directly, or additional hubs and switches. The QoS features provide consistent voice and video quality throughout your business. In addition the RVS4000 features a Virtual Private Network (VPN) security engine that creates encrypted IPSec tunnels through the Internet. The IPSec VPN tunnels enable remote users from at home, or on the road to easily, and securely connect to the office network through a typical wired or wireless broadband connection. When used with another RVS4000 or other Linksys VPN router, branch-to-branch connections can be established allowing users in a remote office to connect to the corporate network.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works Great & No Problems Setting It Up, March 21, 2007

By	David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've had this Linksys RVS4000 4-Port Gigabit Security Router with VPN for a little over two weeks now. I had no problem setting it up and I've had no problems with it operationally. My old Belkin F5D8230-4 Pre-N Router would freeze up every three or four days. This RVS4000 has worked continuously without problem. A couple of very important points, though:

- First, there's a firmware update available on Linksys' site (v1.1.09, dated 02/21/2007). Apparently, this update fixes quite a lot. So much so, that after installing it you MUST reset to factory defaults. So, make sure you update the firmware first thing, and then reset. Don't use any old setups.
- Also, Linksys doesn't seem to care about U.S. Daylight Savings Time having changed. That new firmware, though released just prior to the change, doesn't use the new dates. So, even though the router has a synchronization option and a DST option, I had to turn those off and set the time manually.
- Regarding ease of setup, I'm not using any kind of VPN stuff. I bought this router for it's Gigabit capability over the local network, not for the VPN. So, maybe that's why I had no problem setting it up where other people claim they've had trouble. Or, it could be that the firmware update has simplified things.

Overall, I rate this Linksys RVS4000 at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5. If Linksys had changed the Daylight Savings Time settings to reflect the new U.S. dates, I'd have given it a full 5 stars out of 5.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Multifunctioned Gem with QoS and Jumbo Frame Support!, November 12, 2006

By	Perceptive Reader "George" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I am baffled by the other reviewers comments  the Linksys RVS4000 router is an advanced, integrated router, a firewall and a 4-port full duplex gigabit switch that will satisfy most home offices and home networks. It is economical as it replaces two devices the router and switch, and offers gigabit speed. Nothing else on the market will do this.

The RVS4000 is a gem that supports QoS allows parents to regulate their childrens internet and network access. Heck, the thing even supports jumbo frames unlike a lot of expensive managed 10/100/1000 managed switches; although the MaxFrame feature default is set to 1518 (disabled), and must be manually set to 9600 to get the benefit.

Otherwise, the RVS4000 worked great for me.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars rare gigabit WAN port in a wired firewall/router, November 5, 2008

By	Guy M. Kitashiro "gkitash" (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased the RVS4000 primarily due to its gigabit WAN port; very few wired firewalls have a gigabit WAN port. Not having a gigabit WAN port is a reasonable design because WAN ports in many SOHO firewall applications will likely connect to T1 (1.5 Mbps) or T3 lines (45 Mbps) at most. Since these data rates are lower than that of an ordinary 100 Mbps ethernet port, a gigabit WAN port is more than what is required of a WAN interface.

However, I wanted to use a firewall/router on the network inside of my primary NAT/SPI firewall which is primarily a gigabit network. So, a gigabit WAN port was an important feature because it needs to connect to a gigabit switch (not a WAN link).

Before my purchase, I read many customer reviews that complained about slow data rates through the WAN port. These reviews were very discouraging since the Linksys had a gigabit WAN interface. This was until I found a benchmark test that explained the negative reviews. The RVS4000 (primarily due to its industrial-grade security features) has a WAN to LAN data rate of 15.9 Mbps; very slow for a gigabit interface. However, this can be improved upon by configuring (turning off) the security features of the firewall. Unless you configure the firewall as a non-gateway device, don't expect orders of magnitude improvement in speed.

Here's the good news. The benchmark clocked the RVS4000 LAN to WAN data rate at 530 Mbps. Since many disk drive interfaces do not have a sustained data rate this high; you will not see this number when transfering files. I have a couple NAS RAID boxes with gigabit interfaces that top out at around 100-150 Mbps (individually). I can get higher network utilization numbers when doing several files transfers between different network endpoints simultaneously. Network file transfers tend to be very CPU intensive, even when using SCSI hard drives. The CPU intensive part comes from having to package up the data into IP packets and managing the data transfer.

The bottom line is that I am very satisfied with this firewall and its gigabit WAN port. But understand that it needs to be configured properly to optimize its performance and functionality. You don't need to be an engineer or rocket scientist to do this; however, you will need a bit of understanding about IP networking. If you use the RVS4000 as a primary firewall (configuring all of its security features), I suspect it will do that job rather well also.