How many concurrent VPN passthrough connections does a Netgear DG834 / DG834G router support?

This is from netgear site

2. Added support for up to five IPSec VPN tunnel endpoints including VPN Policies and VPN Status pages. The DG 834(G) has now passed VPN Consortium Interoperability testing and got the VPNC Basic Interop Logo.

Correction they are end point vpns that require netgear software or netgear router-router vpns. It seems only 1 passthrough at a time. sorry :(

1 because it automatically does the port forwarding for you - and you can typically only forward one port at a time to one IP.

Thanks for your input guys. I'm a little confused though, cause on my own DG834 router I have actually tested 3 VPN pass through connections at once, without any problems. Is it possible that it does support more connections even than this, providing they are forwarding to one VPN server?

Hmm.  I wouldn't think the destination would matter.  Ignore my comment - I'm changing to "I don't know". :)

Fair enough :) Well, I think i shall do one of two things; either take a gamble on this router, or can you recommend any budget router that you know first hand (not according to the manufacturer, but that you have used) that will allow at least 5 connections to the same VPN server at once? I'm looking for something around the £50 - £70 mark (upto about $120 USD)

Thanks,

Bluemercury

3 concurrent vpn passthoughs is interesting because Netgear really dont let anything out about how many tunnels it can handle.  Have a look here and you'll see that the vpn passthrough is left blank for the dg834 range. http://www.netgear.com.au/shared/downloads/brochures/Netgear_productCatalogueA4.pdf 
Word on the netgear forum seems to be that only 1 vpn tunnell per protocol so it is a bit confusing. It may be hit and miss so I would go with a prosafe vpn router and a seperate modem. http://www.netgear.com.au/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=129

Thanks for your help Peregian. Yes I agree, it is all a bit confusing, in so much as Netgear do seem a bit 'shy to admit' what they actually support on there consumer routers. Trouble is they move the posts which each new firmware version as well, sometimes adding better VPN support and in some cases worsening it (update my DG834 to the latest firmware, and VPN pass through stops working altogether!) I've seriously considered the router you've provided a link for in the past. The only problem is, I've never been confident which netgear ADSL modem / router box to run it with, given that the one time I went down this kind of path with Netgear, the VPN passthrough once again wouldn't work (and it was one that Netgear said was a sure bet)! If I got this ProSafe router, could you suggest a netgear modem / router device to use with additionally that would provide me with a full solution? I'm aware of the Netgear DG632 that can be run in 'ADSL modem' mode; would this be appropriate to run with the Netgear Prosafe Firewall? Cheers :)

Yes the DG632 does have a bridge mode
Following is a tested configuration for a NetGear DG632 (firmware V3.3.0a_cx) ADSL modem/router
Login to the modem as per the user manual then:

    * If the device is new, select your country from the country column, and select 'No' to 'Auto-Detect Connection Type', then click 'Next'.
    * Select 'LAN IP Setup' from the side bar.
    * Clear the 'Use Router as DHCP Server' check box and click 'Apply'.
    * Select 'Device Mode' from the side bar.
    * From the 'Device Mode' list select 'DG632(Modem)' and click 'Apply'
    * In the side bar select 'Basic Modem Settings'.
    * Select 'No' for 'Does Your Internet Connection Require A Login?' (select this even if your connection requires a username and password as the Prosafe will do this). Then click 'Apply'.
    * Setup should now be complete, so click 'Logout'

Now setup the Prosafe with your password and username.

That's cool. I've seen all that before, cause I setup one a few weeks back with one of the new Netgear MIMO RangeMax routers with an WAN port. So I know the way in which to set it up; the question is, can you personally give testimony to this bit of kit working with a prosafe firewall? I'm starting to become very untrusting of what people like Netgear say will work, and then what actually does in practice....

I've also been looking at the 3Com website. They have an ADSL OfficeConnect router that supports VPN passthrough. Do you have any views on the number of pass through tunnels that this model will support: http://www.3com.com/prod/en_UK_EMEA/detail.jsp?tab=prodspec&sku=3CRWDR100A-72

Thanks again for all your advice,

Bluemercury

I have used the dg632 in bridge mode but not with the prosafe so no guarantees. I have no experience with the 3com listed here sorry.

Thanks for your response Peregian. I'm going to weigh up my options today and order something. As you have probably seen from my other post on EE at the mo, the Server I have supplied for this particular client has collapsed (SATA RAID down) so I should be back here in the next week to give a ersponse to my outcome, and conclude this question.

Thanks again so much for all your help, and speak to you again soon.

Bluemercury

Finally I have a working Windows based VPN! It's a very, very long story which I won't bother putting here, but after numerous router changes, firmware updates, the need for Server restarts and reconfigs of RRAS, I got the new Netgear DG834 router that I have now purchased to pass through the VPN tunnels. It supports 4 concurrent VPN pass through tunnels to the Server, and possible more (I haven't tested more than 4).

As Peregian said 5 VPN tunnels is the limit, which may well be the case, coupled with the fact he has been helpful on other bits of advice, I'm going to award the points in this direction. Many thanks for your help mate.

Bluemercury