Do you really need a VPN router ?. This article helps you understand the need for a VPN router in multiple scenarios. It also explains how to check if your router supports VPN along with VPN router recommendation.
VPN router for Home or office remote access
Let us take a scenario where you have a home or office network. You need to remotely access some systems on the home or office network. In this scenario, you would need a VPN router.
The VPN router would enable you to setup VPN access to your home or office network and users requiring access to the internal systems, can then access the VPN configured on the router.
By having a VPN router, users can securely access the remote system on the respective network.
VPN router for home and office connectivity
Let us take another scenario where a home and office network has to be linked up. For this, a VPN router can be used. Multiple VPN routers can be setup at the respective locations and a site to site VPN tunnel establshed between the routers.
The two scenarios above is when you need a VPN router.
How do I know if my router has VPN
You would need to check the specification of the router to understand if it supports VPN. All routers do not have VPN support. The specification of the specific router can be found on the respective vendor website.
When do I do not need a VPN router
If you do not have to implement any scenarios mentioned above, a normal router without VPN support would suffice.
VPN router recommendation
The following are two VPN router recommendation from two vendors.
NETGEAR Nighthawk 12-Stream WiFi 6E Router