IT Pro Verdict

However, if you’re not bothered about future-proofing, or about squeezing out the absolute maximum speeds possible, a wealth of additional features and an excellent price make it ideal for the more conservative business.

Pros

+
Heaps of redundancy options; Strong built in security; Good value; Nifty SMS management capabilities

Cons

-
Basic URL filtering; Only supports 2.4GHz 11n connections

If you hate downtime, you'll love DrayTek's Vigor 2620Ln. This business router is absolutely bursting with backups and failovers to ensure maximum reliability. In addition to its built-in ADSL2+/VDSL2 modem, it has a 3G/4G modem with dual SIM slots for primary and backup connections to mobile networks - and one of its two Ethernet ports can also be configured as another backup WAN connection.

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Each of these interfaces can be configured in failover mode, so you don't even need to lift a finger to stay online. The bottom line? With the Vigor 2620Ln looking after your connection, you'd need to be having a really bad day at the office to lose internet access.

Security is another strength of the 2620Ln. Its firmware includes a 300Mbits/sec SPI firewall, with app controls and the optional GlobalView web content filtering. The router can also manage up to two concurrent SSL VPN connections: the price includes support for IPsec VPN tunnels, and you can access your network via DrayTek's free Smart VPN client for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.

The one aspect of the 2620Ln that's a little disappointing is its Wi-Fi provision. With only 2.4GHz 802.11n services supported, the router will soon be two generations behind the curve, with throughput lagging far behind the incoming 802.11ax ("Wi-Fi 6") standard. Still, the feature set is strong: the 2620Ln supports up to four virtual SSIDs, each with its own security scheme, client isolation and neighbour AP discovery.

What's more, the 2620Ln supports DrayTek's Central AP Management (CAM), allowing it to directly manage two DrayTek wireless APs. You can create profiles and push them to APs as they come online to define things such as active radio bands, SSID details, security policies and traffic limits.

Setting up the router is easy, thanks to a web-based quick-start wizard that walks you through changing the default admin password and configuring basic internet. Additional wizards are available to help you access DrayTek's free DDNS service, secure your wireless services and create site-to-site or client IPsec VPNs.

One area where you don't get assistance is setting up an SSL VPN, but this is a doddle to configure manually and it works at a decent speed. We used the Smart VPN client on an external Windows 10 PC to copy files onto a system within our LAN and saw a good transfer rate of 3.5MB/sec.

Setting up WAN redundancy is just as breezy: you simply have to decide which interfaces are active and which should be set to failover mode. You can then set policies to tell the router which WAN ports to switch to in the event of an outage, and also whether to switch back when the primary connection comes up again.

Then there are the additional security features. The firewall offers plenty of rules, allowing you to restrict inbound and outbound traffic, as well as specific addresses, protocols and even actions. The application control module comes with a list of over 100 predefined apps and protocols, including IM, P2P, streaming and remote control services. Want Facebook out of your office? Just set up a rule and it will be gone.

The weak suit is the URL filtering service, which is very basic. For more granular browsing controls, the router includes a 30-day trial of the Cyren GlobalView service. This offers 64 web categories, which can be blocked or allowed using up to eight profiles; if you like what you see, it only costs 38 per year to activate.

Finally, the 2620Ln can integrate with DrayTek's cloud-hosted VigorACS 2 service for remote management, and can also be interrogated and restarted from a registered mobile phone using SMS commands - a neat touch.

The Vigor 2620Ln may not offer cutting-edge Wi-Fi speeds, but it has a strong set of security measures and an excellent range of WAN connection options. At a shade under 200, it's excellent value for any small business or satellite office that needs always-on internet access.

Verdict

Desktop unit

2 x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN, LAN/WAN2)

ADSL2+/VDSL2 interface

Dual-slot 3G/4G LTE modem

2.4GHz 802.11n wireless

2 x external LTE aerials

2 x internal Wi-Fi aerials

external power supply

207 x 131 x 39mm (WDH)

440g

2yr RTB warranty

Dave is an IT consultant and freelance journalist specialising in hands-on reviews of computer networking products covering all market sectors from small businesses to enterprises. Founder of Binary Testing Ltd – the UK’s premier independent network testing laboratory - Dave has over 45 years of experience in the IT industry.

Dave has produced many thousands of in-depth business networking product reviews from his lab which have been reproduced globally. Writing for ITPro and its sister title, PC Pro, he covers all areas of business IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, network security, data protection, cloud, infrastructure and services.