Zyxel Prestige 650H-31 or Draytek Vigor 2600+ ?

Both seem to provide decent firewall and VPN endpoint, but Zyxel is
suspiciously cheap - is there a catch?
--
John A

On Wed, 19 May 2004 22:04:43 UTC, John Appleyard
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Both seem to provide decent firewall and VPN endpoint, but Zyxel is
> suspiciously cheap - is there a catch?

Don't know about these particular models, but I've had a Zyxel 645 for a
couple of years and have had no problems. Seems quite a nice piece of
kit.

There may be some kind of spec difference (in terms of features) that
accounts for it, but I wouldn't think that the actual make is
significant here.
--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

There are very few posts on Zyxel, good of bad.
Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
affordable price.
Mine hasn't missed a bit since last May installation.
Regards,
Martin

On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:34:31 UTC, "Martin²" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> There are very few posts on Zyxel, good of bad.

I don't really understand why, though. Perhaps the profit margin is
better on Drayteks!

> Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
> affordable price.

A bit of a sweeping statement...but I guess that's useful input.

> Mine hasn't missed a bit since last May installation.

My Zyxel hasn't in over two years...hence my input. All useful for the
OP.
--
Bob Eager
begin a new life...dump Windows!

Seconded!

Bob Eager wrote:

> On Wed, 19 May 2004 22:04:43 UTC, John Appleyard
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>Both seem to provide decent firewall and VPN endpoint, but Zyxel is
>>suspiciously cheap - is there a catch?
>
>
> Don't know about these particular models, but I've had a Zyxel 645 for a
> couple of years and have had no problems. Seems quite a nice piece of
> kit.
>
> There may be some kind of spec difference (in terms of features) that
> accounts for it, but I wouldn't think that the actual make is
> significant here.

I've been comparing the spec sheets at broadbandbuyer.co.uk, and they
look very comparable. The Draytek has a print server - nice but not
essential. The Zyxel can be upgraded with a wireless card, and costs
only £75+VAT. It also has some nifty looking QoS features - viz

> * IP Policy routing
> * IP QoS Bandwidth Management
> - Priority-bandwidth utilization
> - Guaranteed bandwidth
> - Maximum bandwidth
> - Subnet-specific traffic class
> - Port or Protocol ID-specific traffic class

However I don't want to fall into the trap of saving a few pounds but
ending up with something flashy but flaky. I'll be getting 2 of them,
and a solid VPN implementation is particularly important to me.
--
John Appleyard

On 20 May 2004 07:14:11 GMT, "Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:34:31 UTC, "Martin²" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> There are very few posts on Zyxel, good of bad.
>
>I don't really understand why, though. Perhaps the profit margin is
>better on Drayteks!
>
>> Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
>> affordable price.
>
>A bit of a sweeping statement...but I guess that's useful input.

We have installed about 90 ADSL routers for customers, from
manufacturers D-Link, Netgear, Origo, 3Com & Draytek. Probably about a
third of them Draytek.
The Drayteks are undoubtedly the most flexible to setup, the only ones
we recommend for VPNs and NEVER give any problems.


Steve

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) (Steve Heaven) writes:
> On 20 May 2004 07:14:11 GMT, "Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> >On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:34:31 UTC, "Martin²" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> >> Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
> >> affordable price.
> >
> >A bit of a sweeping statement...but I guess that's useful input.
>
> We have installed about 90 ADSL routers for customers, from
> manufacturers D-Link, Netgear, Origo, 3Com & Draytek. Probably about a
> third of them Draytek.
> The Drayteks are undoubtedly the most flexible to setup, the only ones
> we recommend for VPNs and NEVER give any problems.

Hmm. Two-thirds as much again as the current price of a NetGear DG834G
(2600WG, that is). I bought the DG834G at a point where it was apparently
impossible to get a Draytek box in the UK, and it was OK to start with.
Since I updated the firmware to 1.04.01, several weeks ago, it's been solid
as a solid thing and deals with VPN traffic no trouble at all. When did you
last revise your comparisons? What extra flexibility does the Draytek box
offer?
--
SAm.

Sam Nelson wrote:

> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
> (E-Mail Removed) (Steve Heaven) writes:
>
>>On 20 May 2004 07:14:11 GMT, "Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:34:31 UTC, "Martin²" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
>>>>affordable price.
>>>
>>>A bit of a sweeping statement...but I guess that's useful input.
>>
>>We have installed about 90 ADSL routers for customers, from
>>manufacturers D-Link, Netgear, Origo, 3Com & Draytek. Probably about a
>>third of them Draytek.
>>The Drayteks are undoubtedly the most flexible to setup, the only ones
>>we recommend for VPNs and NEVER give any problems.
>
>
> Hmm. Two-thirds as much again as the current price of a NetGear DG834G
> (2600WG, that is). I bought the DG834G at a point where it was apparently
> impossible to get a Draytek box in the UK, and it was OK to start with.
> Since I updated the firmware to 1.04.01, several weeks ago, it's been solid
> as a solid thing and deals with VPN traffic no trouble at all. When did you
> last revise your comparisons? What extra flexibility does the Draytek box
> offer?

The Netgear looks like a bargain, but as far as I'm concerned, the key
point is that the Draytek (and Zyxel) provide VPN endpoints - not just
passthrough.

I'm impressed by Steve's experiences with Drayteks - it sounds like
that's the safest option.

--
John Appleyard

John Appleyard wrote:

> Sam Nelson wrote:
>
>> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
>> (E-Mail Removed) (Steve Heaven) writes:
>>
>>> On 20 May 2004 07:14:11 GMT, "Bob Eager" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:34:31 UTC, "Martin²" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Draytek Vigor is regarded as the best kit available for home use at
>>>>> affordable price.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A bit of a sweeping statement...but I guess that's useful input.
>>>
>>>
>>> We have installed about 90 ADSL routers for customers, from
>>> manufacturers D-Link, Netgear, Origo, 3Com & Draytek. Probably about a
>>> third of them Draytek.
>>> The Drayteks are undoubtedly the most flexible to setup, the only ones
>>> we recommend for VPNs and NEVER give any problems.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hmm. Two-thirds as much again as the current price of a NetGear DG834G
>> (2600WG, that is). I bought the DG834G at a point where it was
>> apparently
>> impossible to get a Draytek box in the UK, and it was OK to start with.
>> Since I updated the firmware to 1.04.01, several weeks ago, it's been
>> solid
>> as a solid thing and deals with VPN traffic no trouble at all. When
>> did you
>> last revise your comparisons? What extra flexibility does the Draytek
>> box
>> offer?
>
>
> The Netgear looks like a bargain, but as far as I'm concerned, the key
> point is that the Draytek (and Zyxel) provide VPN endpoints - not just
> passthrough.
>
> I'm impressed by Steve's experiences with Drayteks - it sounds like
> that's the safest option.
>

Draytek = Nice kit. I've used them for ISDN and ADSL for many years -
very reliable and solid connectivity, especially for VPNs.

The 2600+ also gives you a USB printer port.

You can get the 2600+ for around £108 if you do a bit of hunting and
haggling (mind you, I'm about to buy 25!)