Is there a 'best of breed' SOHO NAT raouter?

I suspect a true consensus doesn't exist (who would be the arbiter?). But I would appreciate some personal preferences and reasons to help me consider the choices.

I currently have an old Dlink 604 hooked up to a Charter Cable modem. I will soon be installing an AT&T DSL line/modem as an alternate for backup, but if Charter doesn't clean up it's act, DSL will eventually be primary/only. A nice feature would be dual WAN ports for the cable & DSL connections that can be explicitly chosen via Web configuration (I would never want to try simultaneous operation).

Functions I need to have are at least 4 FE or Gbe ports, full port auto negotiation (I now have 2 Gbe PCs and 1 FE - a Gbe NAS device will follow later. Wired connections only - I have a touch of Luddite in me :-) I need to drill a NAT hole for 1 VPN.

I'm not focused strictly on the $40 cookie cutter whiz-bang line of firewalls. Higher cost is OK as long as it buys something. TIA

Reply to
tanstafl
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Why not just purchase a cheap GB network switch for under $100 and then purchase the firewall of your choice.

Reply to
Leythos

Choosing the firewall is the point of the post :-) I suspect most current boxes have 4 FE/Gbe ports standard - which covers my short term future needs. If a good 'wall comes with 8 ports, all the better. If not I can add that switch if/when I need it. I won't really need Gbe capability until I get a NAS device next year. Just trying to ascertain whether I should get a more capable device. I generally feel uneasy using Kmart level commodity gear and now is a good time for me to upgrade if its warranted.

Reply to
tanstafl

Firewalls are not a Network Switch with lots of ports to use for your LAN, they are generally 1 port per network and each network is actually isolated from each other.

If you talking about CHEAP NAT Routers called firewall by idiot marketing people that want to lull you into a false sense of security, yes, many of those that multiple ports to be used as a network switch on a LAN.

So, if you want Gig ethernet ports, spend $50 on a cheap 5 or 8 port GB ethernet switch and settle for that method.

In most cases you're not going to see any difference in your internet side, so unless you've got 100mbps fiber or better, select any NAT appliance or firewall you want and then get a GB ethernet switch.

Reply to
Leythos

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