Review: Funkwerk Bintec RS230aw router

Funkwerk may be an unfamiliar name in the UK, but it has been producing voice and data networking products under the Bintec and Elmeg brands for many years. The firm launched the RS range of internet access products at CeBIT earlier this year, one of which is the RS230aw ADSL/3G Wi-Fi router.

Aimed squarely at SMEs, the RS230aw has a comprehensive feature list that sets it apart from many in this price bracket, which are often geared more towards consumer or home office applications.

Housed in a bright red metal fanless chassis, with small green/orange status LEDs on the front panel, it certainly looks the part. At the rear, nestling between the three 802.11n Wi-Fi antennas, are five Gigabit Ethernet ports, all freely configurable as wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN) ports. Each of the four switched ports can be treated as separate logical network interfaces or configured into groups.

A separate ADSL port sits next to these, and there's also a serial console port with a mini-USB socket. Finally, a USB port is provided for the sole use of plugging in a backup 3G dongle for automatic failover and failback WAN access. DC power comes via a standard plug-mounted adapter.

The user interface is where the RS230aw reveals its enterprise roots, and it's definitely not for the faint hearted. Although it's admirably clear and well organised, with context sensitive help and a full online manual, much more complexity is exposed than is usual in this type of product.

The first clue comes when you realise that the configurator can be switched between the standard view and a Simple Network Management Protocol browser. Even seasoned experts might take a while to become familiar with the level of configuration possible but, once you get to grips with it, you soon realise just how capable this router really is.

Smaller businesses with less technical expertise would be well advised to get professional assistance for initial setup. Having said that, there are several wizards, called 'Assistants', available for the basics, including an admirably painless virtual private network (VPN) wizard.

After taking an hour or so to get familiar with the way everything operates, we were up and connected to a cable modem, Wi-Fi and a backup 3G dongle in a few minutes.

The product is not being deliberately obtuse, but having to configure bridging interfaces and network address translation for each network interface, including the Wi-Fi, is something that's normally well hidden from users. What it does mean is that, if you know what you're doing, you can tailor the RS230aw to fit in with pretty well any kind of network configuration you're likely to encounter.

There's a policy-based Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall with 77 pre-configured services, and load balancing can be implemented between any of the IP interfaces. It's fully VoIP-friendly with a SIP Application Level Gateway to avoid the need for configuring SIP traffic.

Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi modes are supported, but not simultaneously. Up to eight virtual Service Set Identifiers can be created with different security settings, allowing you to partition wireless traffic.

There's support for five hardware-accelerated IPSec VPN LAN-to-LAN or dial-in tunnels. VPN client software isn't included, but is available for £81+VAT per user. Enabling the built-in web content filtering costs £134+VAT per year, with a 30-day free trial in the box. Funkwerk's own remote device management tool, Dime Manager, is included for free.

Five Gigabit Ethernet LAN/WAN ports (freely configurable), integrated ADSL 2+ modem, USB port for 3G dongle, 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi with up to eight virtual SSIDs; five IPSec VPN tunnels; Stateful Packet Inspection policy-based firewall