Hands On: Syswan Duolinks SW24 VPN High Performance Dual WAN Router

Earlier this year, Terry wrote an article about routers that successfully auto-configure with Windows Home Server.  A representative from Syswan Technologies, added a comment to the article and offered WGS a Syswan router to review.  It took awhile but we were able to finally get our hands on a Syswan router.  I would like to thank Syswan for making the Duolinks SW24 VPN router available for review.

Who is Syswan?  They make routers, pure and simple.  Not your garden variety consumer-grade routers, but industrial strength routers with features that go beyond what you find in Linksys, Netgear, D-Link and others.  Syswan makes the kind of routers that go up against Cisco business routers.  So, once again, who is Syswan?  When reviewing an item, I always like to provide some background information on the company that manufactures the product I am looking at.  From their website:

Syswan Technologies Inc. is a global company which creates a range of routing and networking products that help bring people together and minimize downtime while maximizing productivity. Our state of the art equipment brings reliability and scalability, security and speed, and permits seamless integration and operation into any small-to-medium sized organization.

Syswan Technologies Inc. has a network of distribution partners and value added resellers in the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. We have the enviable reputation of providing innovative and cost effective solutions to small-to-medium sized businesses from all corners of the world.

Our market leadership and global reach allows us to continually grow, reach, and expand into new areas – strengthening our brand and building powerful and reliable mission critical networking solutions.

Corporate Objective

Here at Syswan Technologies Inc., our corporate objective is simple: To help small-to-medium enterprises fulfill their Internet and networking needs seamlessly, effortlessly, effectively, and affordably.

At Syswan Technologies Inc. we recognize that our customers and partners are paramount to our success, and all actions, efforts and strategies must be directed towards constantly providing an enhanced service.

Through careful and thorough planning we proactively strive to:

• Provide new and emerging business technologies.
• Provide the highest quality products and services to suit the needs of our customers and exceed their expectations.
• Provide flexible, scalable and affordable solutions.
• Establish solid and long lasting business relationships.

THE HOME NETWORK

What does your home network look like?  If yours is like most home networks, you have a:

• Modem (Cable or DSL)
• Wireless Router with 4 wired LAN Ethernet ports
• Multiple computers connected (wired or wireless) to the router

You may have a networked printer, but more likely a printer connected through the USB port of one your computers.  A step up from the above basic setup might include a switch, which is an easy way of extending a wired network.  Perhaps you have an Xbox or PS3 somewhere in the mix.

Depending upon who you talk to, consumer routers are

• junk
• not secure
• lack features

For example, is your router UPnP?  Maybe yours is, but more likely not.  Adhering to strict standards may require more expensive components or performance sacrifices.  I am hardly the expert, but making a router UPnP should not be as difficult as it seems to be.  Of course, there are those who suggest that UPnP is a security risk and should be disabled.

UPnP a security risk?  True or Urban Legend?  Or perhaps a quote from 10 years ago.

Routers…  What is the difference between that $100 802.11n wireless router and a $1000 (or more) Cisco business router?  To tell you the truth, there are a lot of technical features included in high-end routers that makes my head hurt when I see a spec sheet for one.  Perhaps a home network needs only a “simple” consumer wireless router.  But as more and more consumers use their computers to do such mundane tasks as

• Online purchases
• Online banking
• Keeping sensitive data on a home computer
• hmmm…  Have a Windows Home Server which contains everything stored on ALL your home computers, as well as (potentially) all your digital memories
• Run a website on that WHS

the need for better security than can be provided by consumer-grade routers you can buy from a B&M may increase.  Not that anyone should plan on running out and buying one of those $1000 Cisco routers.  So, what are the alternatives?

Well, alternative #1 is actually some of the more recent routers available today.  More features, and better security options are available in current routers then were available just a few years ago.  While my Linksys WRT110 is more finicky (every once in awhile, I have to reset it) than my trusty old D-Link DI-524, the WRT110 is miles ahead in the options department and may actually rival some of the capabilities of business-class routers.

Other alternatives?  Business-class routers, of course.

I will be the first to admit that I cannot make a good list of what business-class routers are available.  What I can discuss is today’s review subject; the Syswan SW24 High Performance Dual WAN Router.