atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums VOIP Phones & IP PBX Networking Hub, Routers, Switches

1. "Linksys routers are not a true firewall, they simply run NAT but each user is still broadcasting their current IP address everywhere they go" This is a statement (a false one at that), not an opinion.

2. Sonicwall's "subscription services" include a forced virus scanner. This virus scanner requires McAfee software to be installed on a Windows computer to allow any internet access from that computer. If the Sonicwall virus scanner is enabled, it will prevent any non-Windows device from accessing the internet, such as Macintosh, Linux, AND IP phone systems. It also denies users the freedom to use other virus scanners, such as Norton. (This info was condensed and paraphrased from Sonicwall's web site.)

3. In my previous post, I said nothing about viruses, popups, spyware, or intrusion detection because those were not an issue in the original posts. On Sonicwall's website, I saw nothing about intrusion detection, only intrusion prevention, which has already been covered by the firewall/router/NAT issue. I also saw nothing about preventing popups. If the Sonicwall prevented popups, how would the users be able to use sites that required popups? Also, some of the Linksys routers have subscriptions for Zone Alarm and (I forget what brand) antivirus.

Again, I state: If what I said is wrong, show me how and why.

1 you are right I stand corrected
2 you are wrong, depnding on how you set your firewall up you can runn any devices obn the firewall that don't have to use the "forced" virus protection it's a simple matter of alocating ip addresses to the machines that do use the subscription and those that don't, the same applies to machines running other virus software.
3 the original question was about the best way to set the network up, I think that firewalls and virus protection etc are an integral part of the network, yes you can use a router but is it the best way I don't think so. I didn't say that the Sonic Wall prevents popups I was referring to a lot of the common problems we find on networks that are not set up with adequate protection.

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One stop Voice and Data Solutions VoIP

2. If you read my post carefully, it says that I got the information from Sonicwall's website. It doesn't say anything about selecting which machines use it, so my statement isn't completely wrong, just based on incomplete information. I stand corrected.

3. The original question was about which router to use "at his house" that's also "easy to set up". With all the features of a Sonicwall, how easy is it to setup compared to a Linksys? For home use, not many people can justify $500 for a router compared to $60 for a Linksys that also has wireless built in. This also applies to many small businesses.

I agree with you there cost is always a factor, we install very tight networks and we also do a lot of telecommuting setups, a hardware firewall is always a hard sell for residential and also small business but all we do is install a demo and come back after a week and show the customer how many attacks were made on the network and that normally closes the deal.

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One stop Voice and Data Solutions VoIP

That's fine for people that call to have a network set up by someone else, but most want to do it themselves. I think the intent of the topic was to find out which brand would work and be easy for the end-user to setup.

Linksys also has a log viewer program that runs on the PC, it shows incoming and outgoing traffic by IP and port #. Easy for the user to review.

I think part of the confusion is caused by marketing. Linksys calls their product a router, Sonicwall calls theirs a firewall, but both are essentially the same thing with different features. They both run NAT to allow multiple computers to use the same WAN connection, they both offer port forwarding and blocking, they both prevent intrusion, and they both offer a subscription feature for antivirus. I run into this type of thing a lot when users know a feature by one name, and technicians call it something else. Both are saying the same thing, just using different feature names.

I'm not trying to insult or belittle anyone, just making sure that accurate information is given and false or misleading information is corrected.

Back to the original question - Dialtone, it looks like either Linksys or Sonicwall would work in your situation. Linksys is cheaper (around $60 with wireless) and easy for an end-user to setup, Sonicwall is more expensive ($600 with and $500 without wireless), Milestone can tell you about it's setup. You would connect the DSL or cable modem to the WAN port of the router, then connect a switch to the LAN port of the router. Both products support DHCP, so the computers wouldn't need any special configuration other than installing/enabling the network card. If you use a 4 port router and a 16 port switch, you can have all 18 connected at once, no swapping cables if you move computer locations. With an 8 port switch, you can have 10 connected. If you require VPN connections, Linksys has the BEFSX41 and BEFVP41 4 port routers with VPN capability, I can assist with VPN setup if needed.

(whoosh! sizzle!) Flames (hopefully) put out.

Whats a firewall?

OK, where's my ammo...

This is why we bailed on network services and now stick with phone systems and cabling - everybody has a different opinion and who knows what is truly the right way to do it. Question on Linksys versus SonicWall - i know that SonicWall does stateful packet inspection - does Linksys??

Yes, it does. As a side note, Netgear also makes routers that are comparable to Linksys in both cost and performance, I've setup a few of them and they seem to work well. D-Link, IMHO, isn't worth messing with. I've heard several people say that Zonet products are good AND inexpensive, but out of the few I've put in, I had about half out-of-box failures.