Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Do you know what Cisco IOS is?
If not, just stop considering this right now. This isn't for you.
If you're working on a CCNA/CCNP cert, this thing is a great (albeit expensive) way to force you to learn your way around IOS, since there is nothing that will force you to configure your network properly faster than your own home. If you're working on a CCNP, it's got a lot of the features that are hard/impossible to find on used gear, plus you get the latest IOS updates (note that you'll have to hassle Cisco to enable your SmartNet contract since Amazon doesn't have a reseller code to provide). If anything, this product is worth it just for that: the ability to get your own legal IOS images for use in emulators such as GNS3, where you can set up your own virtual lab to play with/break things.
If you want this for your house, it's overkill unless you've got a 40+ megabit WAN connection (don't consider something like an old 1700 series if you've got that kind of speed, it'll just choke once you start maxxing things out).
Note that this product has the advanced image, which has support for OSPF/BGP/EIGRP, VLANs, IDS (not the best performance though, I'd upgrade to an 1800 series if you want decent throughput on the firewall), advanced QoS and IPv6 support.
If you're getting an 871 for certification practice, get this version. If you're an office with 20-30 computers, unless you KNOW that you need the above features, get the standard version and save a few dollars.
If your office has high bandwidth usage, or has more than 40 computers, start looking at higher end versions (and probably a VAR who can guide you better).
Click Here to see more reviews about: Cisco 871 Integrated Services Router - router ( CISCO871-SEC-K9 )
MODEL- CISCO871-SEC-K9VENDOR- CISCOFEATURES- Cisco 871 Secure Ethernet Router with PLUS Cisco 871 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Router with PLUS feature set. Cisco 870 Series of integrated services routers are fixed-configuration routers that support multiple types of DSL technologies broadband cable and Metro Ethernet connections in small offices. They provide the performance needed to run concurrent services including firewall intrusion prevention and encryption for VPNs; optional 802.11b/g for WLAN networking; and quality of service (QoS) features for optimizing voice and video applications. In addition the Cisco Router and Security Device Manager (SDM) Web-based configuration tool simplifies setup and deployment and centralized management capabilities give network managers visibility and control of the network configurations at the remote site. Cisco 870 Series integrated services routers offer:- High performance for broadband access in small offices- Advanced security including:- Stateful Inspection Firewall- IP Security (IPSec) VPNs (Triple Data Encryption Standard [3DES] or Advanced Encryption Standard [AES]).- Intrusion prevention system (IPS)- Antivirus support through Network Admission Control (NAC) and enforcement of secure access policies.- 4-port 10/100 managed switch with VLAN support- Secure WLAN 802.11b/g option with use of multiple antennas- Easy setup deployment and remote management capabilities through Web-based tools and Cisco IOS Software.* Increased Performance to Run Concurrent Services The performance in a Cisco 870 Series router allows customers to takeadvantage of broadband network speeds while running secure concurrentdata voice and video services.* Advanced Security Integrated Stateful Ins
