VPN, IPSec and security is all the rage these days, for good reason. We welcome the added security to these routers since it helps protect us all. Many small to medium businesses are using VPN to secure critical data from remote offices to the home office.

The SMC 7004WFW Barricade Plus is a close relative to the 7004VWBR, but offers a IPSec and PPTP VPN feature that the 7004VWBR does not. In addition to the VPN options, it also offers better remote management via SNMP. We won't spend any time on the basic features, since it's very similar to the VWBR, so for more info on the basics of these routers, see our prior review of the SMC7004VWBR

The router comes bundled with the 3 Click install guide, a CD with manuals and an RJ-45 networking cable. Configuring the router is super easy with the excellent SMC EZ 3-Click start guide and the SMC EZ 3-Click installation wizard. Basic setup is as simple as selecting the Time Zone, Broadband type (Cable Modem, Fixed DSL, PPPoE DSL), and IP Type (Static or Dynamic). Once you select these 3 items, the router does a quick restart and is ready to go. Configuring the VPN is a bit more involved, but SMC has a nice VPN connectivity guide to help you get started.

The 7004WFW with IPSec and PPTP offers more security than any NAT router can offer. With the other added features like the removable antenna's allow an IT manager to customize this router and extend the range with higher gain antenna's. If you want to use this router for IPSec connectivity to other IPSec routers, you may be out of luck, since the WFW is designed and marketed to use IPSec VPN with another WFW. One thing that we found to be very helpful was the VPN connectivity guide. This shows how to install PPTP and set up a PPTP tunnel/client for each operating system - very nicely done. We hope to see SMC add more extensible VPN support (and a list of compatible VPN's) in future models, but for now, the WFW does the job, and does it very well.

Features of the SMC 7004WFW:
- Very low price, Offers Secure VPN and SNMP Management
- 3-port 10/100 switch for your high-speed LAN network
- Fast routing/switching speeds, although approx 30% decrease - WEP enabled
- VPN Client and Endpoint for IPSec (Compatible with other WFW's) and PPTP
- Excellent routing/security features including DHCP, NAT, 64/128 WEP and DMZ
- Intelligent SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall for more advanced security
- Outstanding documentation provided on CD, LAN cable (RJ-45), quick start guide (included)
- Excellent parental controls, time based URL filtering
- Great web based setup/configuration - totally redone from previous Barricades
- Very small, unobtrusive size, metal construction means it will survive a short fall, but no wall mounting options we love to see.
- Detachable antenna's allow use of high gain (longer range) antenna's

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.
Pros: SPI NAT router, VPN capability, WFW to WFW using IPSec or PPTP client and server allows connectivity both ways. Includes 802.11b wireless, simple 3 Click setup, fast, super low price, platform independent, nice web based configuration and also has detachable antenna's
Cons: VPN and IPSec capabilities are limited, No password by default, enabling WEP will cut wireless performance approx 30%, missing some wireless security features we love to see like disabling SSID network, logging could be better

Note: We heard from SMC that there is a new firmware for the WFW series coming out sometime in the near future. This firmware is currently in testing, and includes some really cool new features at no extra charge. We saw an example of the firmware and it includes UPnP support (Universal Plug and Play Router support) and DDNS (Dynamic DNS support). Word is they are also working on MAC address filtering for wireless connections, and more security improvements for wireless functions such as SSID broadcast

SMC Barricade 7004WFW
Current Street Price: $120.00

Available from
PCConnection.com

SMC Networks, Inc.
38 Tesla
Irvine, CA 92618
1-800-SMC-4YOU
http://www.smc.com