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Its been a give and take situation between routers and gateways as the lines that seperated these systems have become blurred. At one time, routers were solely dedicated to providing connection to the Internet and gateways setup and managed the local network. Routers have sucked up gateway functionality and gateways are starting to provide direct access to the Internet. With this in mind NETGEAR has introduced their latest Gateway with integrated DSL modem functionality. The DG814 provides all the basic requirements of gateway functionality with two features to enhance network performance: an integrated DSL modem and a 4 port Ethernet Switch. With the DG814, NETGEAR keeps up its tradition of offering streamlined networking products for low cost installations such as the home or small offices.

The main features on the DG814 are the DSL modem and Ethernet switch. The DSL modem provides Internet access for the local network. The modem supports ADSL with dual RJ-11 phone line connections. The 10/100 Ethernet switch has 4 ports that auto senses the connection speed to client devices to sync up at the optimal speed. It can provide speeds up to 200Mbps with full-duplex.

Obviously security should be a major concern especially at the gateway. DG814 provides minimal security with NAT and VPN. One unique feature of NETGEAR's implementation of NAT is that it detects external sytems from simulating a local machine. In this scenario a hacker will make a DHCP request for an address and if successfull they will have full access to the network. The DG814 prevents this from happening by recognizing the external request. The gateway acts as a pass-through for VPNs supporting the IPSec and L2TP protocols.

Administration of network management is done through a browser based console. Computer systems on the network are assigned private IP address through the gateways NAT and DHCP functions. DG814 can manage up to 253 clients. Port forwarding functionality allows network applications such as messenger, real media and Internet gaming. Parental control functions restrict web content and set time access to the Internet. Email reporting and alerting track browsing activity and usage.

Pricing and Availability

NETGEAR's DG814 DSL Modem Internet Gateway will be available later this summer. No pricing information has been provided at this time.

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NETGEAR Platinum DG814