Draytek Vigor 2920n Dual-WAN Security Router

The Draytek Vigor 2920n Dual-WAN Security Router ($250) is more than a router?it's more of a comprehensive networking appliance. Actually, as a single-band 802.11n router, it's rather average, with so-so throughput and range. Yet for small businesses looking for features not typically found in routers?such as dual WAN ports for failover and load-balancing, robust VPN deployment, and other business-class features?the Vigor 2920n delivers.

Specs
The Draytek Vigor 2920n Dual-WAN Security Router is a rather large router and is rack-mountable (through purchase of an optional mount kit). Since the device is designed to be deployed in server racks and rooms, the WAN and LAN ports are on the front panel.

There are four Gigabit Ethernet ports and, as mentioned, two Gigabit WAN ports. The router also has one USB port for external drive and printer sharing, as well as 10 LEDs that display not only activity of the WAN ports but Denial-of-Service activity, QoS, VPN, and CSM (Content Security Management) activity. Some organizations may find it handy to tell at a glance if services like VPN are enabled and running OK; the Vigor2920n displays as a solid green light when they are.

The router ships with three attachable antennas, but, based on my range testing of the default configuration, I would upgrade to high-gain antennas for larger coverage areas.
The Vigor 2920n runs quiet and cool, even after a few days of uptime, and it's sturdy enough to have all ports connected with cables the device remain in place on a surface.

Setup and Features
There's a lot happening with this router. It's highly-configurable with a firewall, URL, and Web content filtering, WDS (Wireless Distribution System) support, supports for VLANs and more advanced capabilities such as port mirroring.

A native VPN server supports up to 32 simultaneous VPN tunnels (IPSec, PPTP and L2TP). The device also supports 3G/LTE cellular modems and WiMAX.

The Vigor 2920n's sophisticated diagnostics include a Smart Monitor traffic analyzer. The router also has security provisions against DoS attacks and other threats.

Set up involved connecting the router to a WAN connection and using a computer with DHCP enabled to access the Web-based management interface. I had to manually configure the WAN settings for the router to pick up Internet access.

The Vigor 2920n's interface, while meaty and filled with screens and features, timed out on me several times while I was working in it. I also found configuring content filtering somewhat tedious, although it's very detailed and based on setting up individual "object profiles." For instance, if you want to block certain keywords or URLs, you have to set individual profiles for those objects and then configure filtering. Some configuration options, such as content filtering, seem to be unnecessarily complicated to set up in the interface.

Performance
Throughput performance for Draytek's router in Mixed mode was average, and surprisingly, in 802.11n mode, slightly below average. I did find, however, that the Vigor 2920n sustained throughput relatively well at greater distances from the router. Here is throughput at both Mixed and 802.11-n only modes, compared to other single-band routers:

Good Network Appliance, OK Router
Draytek's Vigor 2920n is a high-end networking device designed for businesses looking for a router that can do business-centric tasks. If your business needs require VPN, very customizable content-filtering, traffic analysis and other specific networking needs, the Vigor 2920n is a good choice. However, average throughput makes it best for SMBs with low throughput demands and warrants the device a solid three stars; more for the impressive features than performance. For a router that delivers high throughput and has some business capabilities, Netgear?s N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4000) is an Editors? Choice that offers excellent speed at 5GHz.

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