Draytek VigorIPPBX 2820 review

Port forwarding and redirection is handled in the NAT settings. Redirection (required when an external port has to be forwarded to a different internal port) is configured on one screen, while standard opening of ports is set up on another. Another menu allows you put a machine into a DMZ to handle incoming connections that don't match any other rules in the NAT settings.

In addition to the usual URL, keyword and category based website blocking, the router's firewall allows you to block P2P and internet messaging for specific clients and protocols. This is helpful if, for example, you wish to block P2P file sharing via Kazaa but require BitTorrent traffic to still go through. Instant messaging blocking is even more refined, allowing you to not only block specific clients or protocols, but also to allow some features of a client (such as messaging and voice communication under MSN) while blocking others, such as video messaging or games. Several web-based messaging services can also be blocked, as can Skype or SIP VoIP traffic. The firewall settings also allow you to enable protection against a wide range of Denial of Service attacks.

In the menu below, the IP Objects settings enable you to group together different ranges of internal or external IP addresses, protocols, services, or even file types to make it easier to apply firewall rules. In the following Bandwidth Management menus, the Bandwidth Limiting settings are handy if you want to limit the amount of bandwidth made available to certain IP ranges, either permanently or on a set time schedule.

You can also limit the number of sessions permitted to a specified IP range. Time scheduling can be applied to these settings. Quality of Service (QoS) options can be set, but these require fairly in-depth configuration, as there aren't any pre-set categories to make it easier to prioritise different types of traffic.