Last Updated on December 1, 2023 by Daniel Osakwe
Review of the Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router:
If you are looking for a business VPN solution for your business, then the Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router might be the perfect fit for you. This VPN router is capable of providing a secure and private connection for your business while still offering the same performance as it does with your personal internet connection.
What makes this VPN router stand out is its price and performance. The Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router costs about $300 on Amazon.com. This VPN router is also the fastest VPN router in this price range. It has a 1.2 Gbps VPN throughput and the ability to provide up to 3 Gbps of secure VPN throughput.
Table of Contents
What makes the Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router unique?
The Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router is a powerful and fast business VPN router. It is capable of providing a secure and private connection for your business while you are online. This VPN router allows you to connect to your business network and securely access your company’s resources. It is also capable of protecting your business data.
This VPN router has a wide range of features. It has a 10/100 Ethernet port and four WAN ports. You can connect more than four devices with this VPN router.
The Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router has a lot of security features. It has a firewall, parental controls, and a web security certificate. It also has an encrypted VPN tunnel.
Setup and Configuration of the Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router
- Compact design
- Solid construction
- Easy setup
- A user manual is available.
- User-friendly interface
The LRT224 has a compact design and solid construction. There are LEDs along the top for power, LAN, WAN, and DMZ/WAN2. On the back, there are four LAN ports, one WAN port, and one shared DMZ and WAN2 port. It is especially disappointing that in order to use the load-balancing features, users must give up the dedicated DMZ port. The packaged disc includes all the documentation, but the Quick Start guide does an excellent job of explaining the setup process in a few simple steps. Despite its good impression, it feels like the same router as the LRT214.
The router is immediately usable after powering on, as long as DHCP is enabled on the WAN network. Managing the router is simple. By default, the configuration IP address is 192.168.1.1 and the port is HTTP. Once logged in, you can use the Setup wizard to configure the WAN connection, LAN subnet, DNS, and local DHCP settings. The setup process takes about five minutes.
Users will notice a noticeable improvement over the consumer-grade Linksys layout. An overview of System Status is available on the Administration page. Instantly, you can access a wide range of useful information, such as port statuses and active VPN tunnels. The management UI is divided into configuration, maintenance, and support tabs. Most setups will occur under the Configuration tab, with only a minimal amount of troubleshooting carried out under the Maintenance tab.
Sadly, the Support tab contains only links to Linksys’ support website. Although Linksys does not offer offline support, its support website is well-stocked with good information.
Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router: Network Configuration Features
- There is a Serval configuration option available.
- Easy configuration
- Advanced networking options
As far as network configuration is concerned, the LRT224 offers the same options as the LRT214. All of the standard WAN connection options are available, including DHCP, L2TP, PPPoE, PPTP, Static IP, and Transparent Bridge mode. In some cases, companies may not be able to get standard business-class Internet service through DHCP but may need dedicated lines or static IP addresses (for security or app-related reasons).
The router also offers advanced networking options, including 1-1 network address translation (NAT), tagged virtual LANs (VLANs), and dual-stack configurations for IPV4 and IPV6, so you can run both versions of TCP/IP simultaneously (a significant benefit for companies that are slowly transitioning to IPV6). Newcomers will find each configuration screen easy to understand.
There are several options for configuring the second WAN port on the LRT224, in particular. Performing a failover is the easiest, but load balancing and sticky ports are also options. In the testing phase, load balancing is performed as advertised, but only an equal balance is achieved. Most users will not be concerned about this, but there are other routers that allow you to choose between round-robin and other algorithms.
Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router: Firewall and VPN settings
There is a powerful access rule editor available in the firewall section, as you would expect on a midrange-to-enterprise-level router. Access rules can be defined both for incoming and outgoing traffic. There is no provision for defining custom network objects such as named IP ranges in the router, but services can be defined in this way. This provides plenty of flexibility in terms of controlling the network.
The LRT224 provides VPN support. Configurations for IKE, PPTP, and OpenVPN are all fully supported. There are 45 standard VPN tunnels available. The setup screen is not difficult to use. All options are clearly labeled. The VPN configuration is necessary, but it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.
A user can only create 45 general-purpose VPN tunnels on this version of the router. It would be difficult for anyone using a SOHO router to reach this number since it seems somewhat arbitrary. Linksys, like other LRT routers, offers up to five VPN tunnels via “EasyLink”. However, it is limited to the LRT line of routers.
In a typical file transfer test via SFTP, a standard IPSec tunnel configured with SHA1 and AES-256 encryption performs anywhere from 62 to 67 Mbps. The Linksys datasheet advertises 110 Mbps, but I chose the highest level of security available. By omitting a secure transfer protocol and using a lower level of encryption, MD5 could deliver the claimed throughput. Compared with other routers in its class, the LRT performs at a similar level or better.
Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router: Security and Content Filtering
The software also has an excellent set of security features, like stateful packet inspection (SPI), denial of service (DoS) prevention, as well as the ability to block Java, cookies, ActiveX, and similar code. Unlike some more expensive routers, it lacks intrusion detection capabilities. It is possible to block domains and pages with certain keywords using the included content filter. Since most search engine traffic is encrypted, keyword blocking is very limited since it only affects unencrypted traffic.
Another notable feature is the enforced minimum complexity of passwords and VPN keys. Although it can be turned off, it’s a good way to add some extra security when it comes to human interaction.
The logging features on the LRT are good, but not great. Message and event types cannot be searched, which is a major flaw. If you’ve ever managed to configure a VPN, you know how important it is to look for the appropriate error messages to ensure a proper connection. However, this can be overcome by having the logs emailed, but I would have preferred this kind of filter to be set on the router itself.
Load-balancing routers like the LRT224 are competitive options. The DMZ port was sacrificed for the second WAN port, but everything needed for a basic load-balanced setup is present. The LRT class of routers offers an easy-to-use UI and features often found on higher-end routers, making them a good choice for an entry-level or business-class network.
PROS & CONS
| Pros | Cons |
| Simple load balancing. | Logs are not searchable. |
| Built-in DNS server. | Lack of offline support. |
| Excellent IPsec throughput. | A DMZ port must be sacrificed to use WAN2. |
| Mature network and firewall management. | |
| A clean and easy-to-navigate user interface (UI). | |
| Easy-to-manage VPN tunnels. |
Verdict
This Linksys LRT224 Dual WAN Business Gigabit VPN Router has the same features as the LRT214, plus load balancing. To allow for a second WAN port, the DMZ port had to be sacrificed, but otherwise, all the components for a basic load-balanced setup are present.
