Cisco RV016 16-port 10/100 VPN Router - Multi WAN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I use this router on our main network of about 40 permanent users and another 20 or so users (clients) that come and go. At any one time it is negotiating 50 to 65 users via DHCP through four 24 port managed switches about ten 4 to 8 port hubs and six WAP's. Clients come and go everyday, some with Mac's others with PC's and I never have to do anything to get them on the internet. In the two years it has been in service I think that I rebooted it once and I'm not positive that it was the problem since I will reboot the modem, switches and router together. Occasionally things do get turned off for maintenance, but looking at the router admin page right now it has been running 54 days straight. I have to say it is much more stable than other small routers that advertise delivering 99 DHCP address's but really can only deliver about 10 without having to use static IP's. It's powerful browser interface lets you manage port bandwidth, port function and port priority easily. Some departments need more or less speed or higher priority. Security notifications via email keep me on top of potential attacks. The effect on speed due to security features was negligible. The "Block WAN request" even keeps our own ISP from seeing us. All these things are simple to setup. As a basic router it is very powerful.
The only short coming that I see is with the load balancing. This seems to really slow the speed significantly. I think that it is just too much for the CPU to handle. My intention was to have two different ISP's for redundancy. As a fix I leave both providers connected but only activate one WAN port at a time. If one WAN goes down I can quickly activate the other WAN port without anyone really being affected. The other ISP is mainly used for FTP anyway.
On the problems with VPN's, we don't use them so I can't comment on that.
In closing, you could spend thousands to get some of the features that facilitate subnets and load balancing, for the price it works very well.
Update: I have since purchased a second RV016 (firmware 2.0.13) with the same solid performance. I've read about some of the problems that others are having and would say that compatibility with other vendors is an issue to consider. Also using switches versus hubs takes some of the load off the routers CPU.
Update 2: We now own three routers without problem. I know that some have complained about customer service and I have to agree it's lacking. But what I would tell less experienced users is that the Sitemap column on the right side of the browser interface has extensive explanations of all the settings. This combined with a little experimentation should get you where you need to be. The file sharing problems that another reviewer had has nothing to do with the router, it's all about the computer settings. Another reviewer commented on customer service asking about the color of the cables. In the early days of DSL and daisy chaining hubs, crossover cables were used and they were generally orange or yellow and will not work with most equipment.

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Product Description:
WAN VPN Router, formerly part of the Linksys Business Series, is designed and built for small businesses. It provides connection sharing and secure remote access at the heart of your network to allow your employees to access the resources they need to be productive. Multiple WAN ports can be used for load balancing and redundancy. Strong security features include VPN, a proven firewall, and an optional security service that helps fight spam, viruses, and other threats. The built-in switch can connect devices in the office or additional switches.

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