Customer was having trouble with the financial software dropping connection to corporate. They have DSL and were using a LinkSys BEFSX41 for internet connectivity. The problem would only arise when someone didn't touch the application for a few minutes (10 to 40 was the best estimate). After returning, the program would default to the opening screen. Any unsaved work was lost. Very annoying.

The corporate helpdesk technician recommended replacing the router/firewall with a LinkSys RV042 (also a router/firewall). This product did seem to be a little "beefier" and was still under $200. I was a little reluctant to swap one LinkSys router for another; still not being convinced it was the problem. In fact, the same tech group had recommended LinkSys in the beginning, but hadn't been as specific with the model of hardware. Of course I had picked the popular model (which was also resonably priced).

Three months later, the customer is still happy and the router is performing quite well with not one disconnection.

One word of caution: I tried upgrading the firmware in the BEFSX41, but ran into a world of hurt with the buggy releases on the LinkSys website.