Originally founded in 1996, and originally called Moreton Bay, the Utah-based company SnapGear has a well-established history in the manufacture of networking devices. Originally founded to build multiple modems on PCI cards, the company foresaw the decline of the market for modems, and made the move to VPN routers.

For years, it targeted the OEM market, offering its products for companies to resell as their own branded VPN solutions. In 2001, however, the company decided to make its own push into the retail VPN appliance market, and released a line of products, calling them SnapGear.

The SnapGear appliance is designed to operate as a router, a firewall, and a VPN appliance. Most popular among small- and medium-sized businesses, it is available in four models, the LITE, LITE+, SOHO+ and PRO. Each model is designed for deployment at a different level of network complexity. The LITE and LITE+ are designed for use in homes or offices as Internet access devices with VPN capabilities. The SOHO+ is designed for use in a small- to medium-sized office as a multi-function VPN router. And the PRO is designed for use in more complex office environments as a high performance VPN router. The entire line of products ranges in price from $249 to $549.

The SnapGear appliances were designed with several VPN protocols in mind. Its PPTP functionality makes it compatible with a number of Windows-based software VPN clients. At the same time, IPSec functionality makes it compatible with the majority of hardware VPN appliances in operation.

SnapGear is working continually to develop its sales channels, and make its retail products more universally available. But interested customers can always buy the company’s products from the company’s website (snapgear.com), or contact the company by phone, at 801-282-8492, or by email, at [email protected].