Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have purchased five Linksys/Cisco VPN routers in the last five years. Two "RV042"s, Two "BEFSX41"s, and one RVL200. (Yes, I have (maybe now "had") a preference for the Linksys/Cisco brand.) But out of these five VPN routers, both of the RV042s have failed (blinking diag light) within about 16 months from the date of purchase.
When not in failure mode, the RV042 is a cost effective router and I have paired them together or have mixed and matched with the BEFSX41, RVL200 and a Sonicwall VPN router (don't know the model since I was connecting to a third-party administered site) with good results. It also has a large feature set for the price (DHCP w/ MAC mapping, 5 IPsec VPNs, VLAN support, etc...) and since the last firmware upgrade, it has not been buggy (unlike in 2006, which was two firmware upgrade versions earlier). It is, however, prone to early failure based on my experience and other user comments/reviews. One reviewer here has stated the Blinking Diag Light of Death ("BDLOD") may be due to a firmware problem although I recall during my first failure, another reviewer (you might need to google this issue) stated that these BDLODs may be due to bad capacitors. This person posted a DIY capacitor replacement guide on the web.
For now, I might just spend the $180.00 for another RV042 so I can easily load my configuration backups. My full-time profession (Patents) is not IT so there's a need to get my End Point VPNs, VoIP PBX w/ SIP phones connected using a Wireless 802.11 bridge, Real-time offsite file backups and remote desktop functionality (for all fifteen PCs and Laptops) up and running with minimal disruption. When configured correctly, having VPN end-points enables dependable offsite computing, greatly increasing my productivity. I'll then research and implement a transition plan on my own schedule to avoid unintended surprises. Note I have a 9 year old D-Link non-VPN wireless router and it is still in use!
Overall, the RV042 has a large feature set and is relatively stable. If you do purchase it, you might not be disapointed but it might be a good idea to backup your configuration settings and have a spare RV042 backup available to minimize downtime.
Cheers and Good Luck
P.S. I found the BEFSX41 to be a the "little engine that could" of VPN routers. It's fast, very inexpensive and reliable. It does have a somewhat limited feature set, e.g., it does not support MAC address DHCP mapping. The RVL200 is also an interesting product - I find the SSL VPN functionality convenient. I have used remote desktop to read my email and pull files while away via SSL VPN - easy, Web-browser (active-x only?) compatible and a no-brainer to use. Every once in while, - it has a "system busy" problem during logon but this does not occur frequently enough for me to regret my purchase.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Cisco Small Business RV042 Dual WAN VPN Router - Router - 4-port switch - desktop
Router - 4 x 10/100Base-TX LAN, 1 x 10/100Base-TX WAN, 1 x 10/100Base-TX DMZ
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