Rating: 
Summary: Good for nothing
Review: (Tech support issued have already been described.)
For me, a casual home user with a recurring urge to VPN to the office, it is important that the thing just work. It doesn't.
It crashes (apparently, on the WAN side only) with symptoms ranging from DNS failure to complete disconnect, and up time ranging from mere seconds to 4 days max. I couldn't identify a "killer app" but I noticed that running VNC over VPN helps kill this poor device.
I returned the unit as defective and got back another one, "certified to comply..." Same story.
I've decided to just write off this bad expense. Looks just like what Linksys wants me to do.
Rating: 
Summary: VPN Bargain
Review: A simple and inexpensive VPN router best suited for connecting fixed endpoints such as remote offices. No, it doesn't have all the options of it's bigger brothers now that it's a Cisco product, but it's an order of magnitude cheaper and the current firmware version is solid. A stateful packet inspection firewall, hardware IPSEC VPN with up to 70 tunnels, DHCP server, and 4 port 10/100 switch for $100, with no expensive client software to buy? It's a great deal.If you're considering VPN for connecting offices, shell out a couple of bucks and buy a fixed IP from your ISP - never try using it with DHCP like some disappointed reviewers. If you're planning to connect to your company VPN from home, ask your network experts first about compatability. I got it to work with the racoon VPN client on a Mac laptop over a wireless connection, so it's gotta be pretty compatable with IPSEC standards.
Rating:
Summary: save yourself time and stay clear of this broken product
Review: As others have pointed out, the WAN side of this linksys box constantly crashes. If you do not host servers inside the firewall and don't need VPN, then this works OK. But there are products that can do what you need for half the price. If you host servers, be ready for constant disconnects: this linksys is a time wasting piece of junk. In addition to constant WAN crashes, you'll also have to deal with documented bugs that linksys refuses to fix.
Rating: 
Summary: for small scale VPN go somewhere else
Review: As usual, Linksys was very easy to set up, also nice the built in DynDns support, however VPN is not quite up to the promise. If you are not connecting two routers, you WILL need additional client software, and there are no free clients available. For VPN go with a Netopia R910, it can act as a client and/or server plus it support Windows built-in PPtP.
Rating: 
Summary: BEFVP41 and Microsoft PPtP Servers
Review: As you may have read elsewhere, this router has a problem with the GRE protocol used by Microsoft for their PPtP server (see Alan Bryant's May 27, 2004 review).
This will stop you using it with the built-in PPtP VPN client/server which is provided with Windows 2000/XP.
Here is the text of a complaint I have submitted to Linksys...
"I am attempting to operate a Microsoft PPtP server behind a BEFVP41 (firmware 1.41.1). I have PPtP Pass Through enabled and port 1723 forwarded to the fixed IP address of the server but the router refuses to pass the GRE protocol used by Microsoft (Protocol 47).
In answer ID 737, you suggest forwarding port 47 presumably in a belief that this has something to do with GRE. It does not and is therefore not the solution to this problem. GRE does not use TCP/UDP port 47, it is 'Protocol 47', something entirely different.
It seems that the the writer of answer 737 has neither tested this scenario nor has a true understanding of the nature of this problem.
I and others have investigated this problem extensively using protocol analysers at the client and server ends and can only conclude that the present version of firmware in the BEFVP41 (1.41.1) is incapable of handling the GRE protocol correctly.
Can you please advise when a fix will be implemented? This is seriously devaluing an otherwise good product.
I also suggest that you amend answer 737 as it is misleading and will frustrate others less versed in IP protocols than myself."
I await a reply from Linksys as I write this review.
Having said all that, if you have no interest in running the Microsoft PPtP server, the BEFVP41 may do everything else you require.
It functions okay as a basic NAT router and it's stealth capabilities are good (Steve Gibson's 'Shields Up' reports 'True Stealth' as long as you forward port 113 to a non-existant host).
The in-built IPSec tunneling works well. I am using one to provide permanant tunnels to a number of BEFSX41's very reliably.
The web interface is a little odd at times but it does do the job reasonably and you do get used to it eventually.
To summarise:
A reasonable basic NAT router.
Very good stealth.
IPSec tunneling works okay (at least to other Linksys products).
Microsoft's PPtP server will NOT work with the current firmware version.
Rating: 
Summary: an affordable VPN box
Review: I am attractived by the aggressive price firstly.
But it did works fine. The VPN setting is introduced
step by step to establish a tunnel quickly between
router and win2K.
Rating:
Summary: It does the job
Review: I bought this Linksys product to connect two homes into a single virtual private network using a cable modem at each home. This setup requires using two of this product. Since installing the product, everything has worked great, and I can access all of my files on any computer at either home from the other seamlessly. My only complaint is that access is a bit slow, but this is probably a function of the internet, rather than this product. That said, I generally have a poor impresion of Linksys products, particularly given the problems that I've had with their WAP 11. Furthermore, Linksys has very poor technical support (they've transferred a lot of their technical support offshore). Thus, if you can find another product that will do what you want, you should consider it.
Rating:
Summary: It does the job
Review: I bought this Linksys product to connect two homes into a single virtual private network using a cable modem at each home. This setup requires using two of this product. Since installing the product, everything has worked great, and I can access all of my files on any computer at either home from the other seamlessly. My only complaint is that access is a bit slow, but this is probably a function of the internet, rather than this product. That said, I generally have a poor impresion of Linksys products, particularly given the problems that I've had with their WAP 11. Furthermore, Linksys has very poor technical support (they've transferred a lot of their technical support offshore). Thus, if you can find another product that will do what you want, you should consider it.
Rating:
Summary: Worked well, then failed. poor customer service
Review: i bought this product for its feature set -- 70 VPN tunnels, DHCP, PPPoE for xDSL, convience of setup and use. all of that worked fine for roughly 8 months, then the box died -- no lights, no activity at all. to their credit, LinkSys Tech support were quick to offer a replacement part, but that was a week ago. in four days of multiple telephone calls, multiple promises that the replacement product would "ship today", and lastly a personal promise that a replacement would ship, i still have no idea when or if i will ever be able to replace this product. i probably should have purchased something from Sonic Wall instead.
Rating:
Summary: Basic functionality, and that's about all
Review: I bought this router hoping that some of the quality in Cisco's excellent enterprise-market routers would have worn off on adopted child Linksys. Unfortunately, my experience has me convinced that Linksys is a red-headed stepchild (my apologies to all you red-heads) who has learned very little from its adoptive parent.
That being said, the router does work out of the box, and it is probably about par for current market offerings on home-network routers. My perusals of the DSL reports hardware forums have left me with the impression that all sub-$300 routers on the market suffer their quirks and behavioral anomalies, and this one is certainly no exception.
Pros:
This router is configured to work right out of the box. You can pretty much just connect the cables and turn it on, and have functional connectivity without ever looking at a configuration screen.
The HTML-based configuration interface is incredibly easy to use. You don't have to learn one single command line to configure this router.
Default configuration was stealth mode -- meaning the router did not respond to _any_ unsolicited connection requests, forming a protective "black hole" on my IP for most uninvited packets.
Cons:
Not all of the features worked out of the box. Several of the links in the HTML command pages simply did not link to anything. Strange that Linksys would ship the firmware without at least taking 30 minutes to hide the links that don't point to anything.
Turning on the poorly documented "firewall" feature causes the router to respond irregularly to unsolicited connection requests. Sometimes the router responds "port closed" to all requests. Sometimes it responds "port closed" to some and "port open" to others (the set of which does not remain consistent from one trial to the next). Never does it maintain the stealth operation of its default configuration (with "firewall" inactive). I'm not sure how the "firewall" in this router is configured to behave, but my initial tests suggest it is more security hindrance than feature.
The router's DHCP functionality works great -- when it works. It mysteriously disengages at random intervals, requiring a reboot (and sometimes a flash to factory defaults) to remedy.
Flashing a new BIOS image is risky; router failure during a flash means shipping the router back to the manufacturer - or File13, if the warranty is out.
For what it's worth, I am still using this router. It serves its basic purpose, and while its functionality issues are annoying, there are workarounds for all of them. I probably will not buy another Linksys, but the problems with this one aren't annoying enough to warrant a return.
-sean henning
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