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Adtran NETVANTA 2050 2ND GEN VPN HOME ( 1202362L1 )
Adtran NETVANTA 2050 2ND GEN VPN HOME ( 1202362L1 )
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Model: 1202362L1
Brand: ADTRAN
Manufacturer: ADTRAN
Average Rating:    (submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 2
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
 
Features:
ONLY
 
Description:
The ADTRAN NetVanta 2050 is small office/home office VPN/Security gateway providing all the necessary components required to secure an integrated VPN solution. Used primarily for remote access, the NetVanta 2050 is perfect for work-at-home telecommuters. It provides key security and data management features such as IPSec VPN tunneling, stateful inspection firewall, built-in router, authenticated remote user access, and Network Address Translation. On a public infrastructure like the Internet, security is of the utmost importance. The NetVanta 2050 protects the corporate network against attacks with a built-in firewall and provides data security through encryption, authentication and key exchange. The NetVanta 2050 employs a stateful inspection firewall that protects an organization's network from common cyber attacks including TCP synflooding, IP spoofing, ICMP redirect, land attacks, ping-of-death, and IP reassembly problems. It also encrypts the data being sent out onto the network, using either the DES (Data Encryption Standard) or 3DES encryption algorithms. In addition, Internet Key Exchange (IKE) can be used for user authentication supporting public and private keys or digital certificates, assuring that the proper VPN tunnel is established and that the tunnel has not been redirected or compromised. The NetVanta 2050 is IPSec compliant device that provides secure communication over potentially unsecure network components. As a security gateway, the NetVanta 2050 can provide five private encryption communication tunnels supporting up to 15 users. With the use of Network Address Translation (NAT), it can hide IP addresses from the external world. In addition, the internal router allows multiple users to share a VPN connection and can also direct incoming IP traffic. A remote NetVanta 2050 can easily be configured and managed using a standard web browser. This device offers built-in alert and logging mechanisms to warn administrators about activities that are
 
User Reviews (2 total):
Page   1     of Total 1 Pages


    Other products are cheaper & better, November 19, 2004
By Blog: http://robv.sound-o-mat.com (Portland, Ore)
We chose the AdTran NetVanta because we were looking for a dedicated router/bridge that would act as a firewall and provide IPvSec VPN access to our Windows network from the Internet. First off, it can't work as a bridge, it's only a router.

Secondly, the information on the AdTran Web site is at best misleading, or completely lacking, in such a way as to be misleading. For example, nowhere did it state that the unit does NOT come with VPN support, but that you need to purchase that separately, at about $170. This gets you a serial number which lets you download the "enhanced" firmware from their confusing Web site. So while the $260 price looked attractive, we ended up spending $430 to get firewall & VPN capabilities, and there's a lot of products out there that will do both out of the box for 1/3 or less the price.

Even if you decide to get the VPN capabilities, you'll then need to buy a separate AdTran Windows VPN client at $125 per 5 users, because it won't work with the VPN facilities built into Windows. And that client will just get packets between your remote PC and internal network, it doesn't help you autheticate to a Windows domain, making it difficult for anyone but a Power User to access Windows-based resources.

If you're willing to spend that much to buy two units to create a IPvSec VPN tunnel from one office location to another, this product would be fine, but again, there's better/cheaper products which will do same. But be warned that it only provides routing, not bridging, so if you're in a Windows environment, all it will do is share packets between two separate sites; you're stuck figuring out how to authenticate against separate Windows domains to access resources.

As a firewall, it doesn't offer any features beyond what other, less-expensive routers offer. As a VPN remote-access unit, it's useless compared to a number of Linksys and Cisco products designed to do that. And after reading tech/sales claims as to what it can do, only to keep finding out you need to keep purchasing add-ons to get that functionality is insulting and unethical.

Strengths:

Not many. The Web-based configuration support is good, but no better than competitors' products. Its price is not competitive nor does it offer the functionality that's really needed in most situations. 10 years ago this would have been a great product, today it's a dinosaur.

(sarcasm on)
If you like wasting time, having to buy a lot of extras (and wait for them) and being really frustrated and unable to get anything working, then waiting around for hours for support call-backs, then this baby is for you. (sarcasm off)

Weaknesses:

To get all the functionality claimed in their sales information, you'll end up spending 2-4x the base price.

If you upgrade the firmware, you'll have to reset it to Factory Defaults and reconfigure it to get it working.

The VPN support for remote clients is simply the ability to route packets once you pay extra for their VPN firmware *and* however many lincenses for their VPN client software, and it still leaves you without an easy way to authenticate to Windows domains.

Their support makes you jump through a lot of hoops to prove you own the product and whatever upgrades before they'll stick you on a list to wait around for a call-back Their Web site is practically useless and the documentation poor and misleading.

After all our problem and calls/email to support, which was difficult, their "follow-up" on the support was to try and sell us three different "upgrade" and "support" services at a yearly fee! For a product that others make, you buy, plug in, and forget about. Support for a firewall/VPN router? Why? It should work or shouldn't.

This is a 1990 product in a 2004 world run by a company whose sales/marketing department is 10x bigger than their engineering dept.

Similar Products Used:

Look at anything by Linksys, Cisco or 3Com, and you'll find something that actually does what it claims without having to spend 2-4x the money on "upgrades" which still leave you with a product that doesn't solve today's products.

I'll avoid AdTran at all costs in the future. Stay away!


    Excellent Performer - Excellent Product - Excellent Support, May 17, 2004
By Gene Bohn (Bristol, IN United States)
After a series of disasters with Netgear FVL 328 and FVS 318 gateway routers, I went to Adtran's Netvanta 2050. I have installed many of these since Oct. 2003 and find the product superb. The web based set up works nicely for the technical lightweight users - and most users will find this easy to use.

The command line option (which us more technical types use to trouble shoot severe problems)is very similar to Adtran's access routers and very helpful should you run into serious difficulty (which is not likely due to the Netvanta but to other things).

Finally, Adtran's technical customer support is outstanding. I had a system performance problem that, with their help, pinpointed the problem to the CATV provider. When the CATV provider balked initially, I reiterated the troubleshooting AND the steps both I did and Adtran's people recommended. This resulted in the CATV provider replacing the cable from the junction into the building - and the problem ended. Adtran stuck with us throughout - not to finger point but to get to the bottom of the problem.

You get what you pay for - for me this is the best in its class and well worth the price.

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