Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Symantec Edge Secure Gateway

I would say a small business with a basic firewall and security needs would be a perfect fit for the Barracuda CloudGen firewall. I know that they soon end up leaving the NG models and are moving forward with the F series firewall. I think the F series is a much more difficult to manage device and doesn’t offer simplistic configuration or use and lacks cloud control so I don’t understand the move on Barracuda’s part to nix a great easy to manage the firewall. I do think that the NG line is maybe too simple for bigger businesses and would lack some main features that they would require.

Incentivized

• In our organization, Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) is our primary and second line of defense facing the internet
• It is positioned behind in conjunction with an intrusion protection service.
• Before using this concept of defense, our Internet firewalls were continuously being overworked and saturated, slowing down traffic as a result.
• It is not an option any more not to have Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) in our infrastructure.

• The management software is excellent. It make it much easier to manage the firewalls than some of the other vendors.
• Watching real-time traffic is easy to do when trying to troubleshoot a users issues getting to a particular service.
• Support from Barracuda has been excellent. We rate their phone and online remote support as being the best in the business.
• We like the QoS and Traffic shaping of the NG Firewalls. They help is manage our limited bandwidth, so that business critical resources are available over lesser critical resources.
• Integration with Active Directory makes it easy to identify users activities in logs.

Incentivized

• In conjunction with Active Directory, we can allow or deny access to the internet very quickly. We can also determine the level of access to the internet.
• To satisfy our executive requirements, we can provide regular reports on internet usage.
• Malicious protection Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) provides beyond our expectations.
• It is our first level of defense, thus allowing us to reduce our investment in internal security systems.

• Very complex and steep learning curve to get up to speed.
• Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature. Takes time to determine "your" customized build.
• Interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it's organized or arranged. Again, steep learning curve.

• On occasion, content analysis needs some tweaking. Specifically, when huge files our downloaded.
• For our organization using cloud-based applications and services is very discouraged.
• However, the universe seems to be trending towards cloud-based offerings.
• It may be reassuring if Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) could enhance protection in dealing with cloud services, particularly in protecting data.

Easy enough to use and configure using the management UI. Reporting from the web filter is a little clunky, and not very user friendly. To be perfectly honest, once it's set up and running, there isn't a lot to do from the day-to-day side of things, which is not a bad thing.

I could go on and on about how good Barracuda's support really is. I have yet to have a problem they didn't help me fix and I always learn something when talking with them. The story that best describes my overall experience with Barracuda's support is this: When I first put in the xSeries they had a problem with a policy route. There was a bug in the code and in the one situation I was it, it just would not work. I went up the levels of support and they couldn't fix it. Well, next thing I know I am on the phone with 2 of the guys that programmed the thing and they work out the solution in no time and get me going. That is support. That is what I have come to expect from Barracuda. If the tech on the phone doesn't know the answer, they do not stop until they find it. Grant it, I also have to admit I do not call support with every problem, I try to work it out on my own first as that is how I learn best, so when I do call support it is going to be complicated.

Incentivized

• We have submitted support request to Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG). In all cases, responses have been timely, and very comprehensive.
• The support staff is very knowledgeable and does not hesitate to involve expert resources as required.
• We have never had an unsolved case with Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG).

Our Cisco firewall was always difficult to make any changes against. It had no user-friendly GUI interface. We were calling technical support most of the time whenever we needed to make any changes. The Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has a GUI interface which we are looking forward to getting better acquainted with as we move off of our old Cisco. Of course, Barracuda's technical support is always there and is top notch!

• Trend Micro IPS combined with Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) is a winning formula for our organization
• Palo Alto next-generation Firewall. Could not handle the load and protection level that we have today.

• We saved multiple thousands of dollars the first year out with the firewall in maintenance fees. We paid for the firewall and 3 years of service and still saved money.
• The ease of management allows me to do my job more efficiently. I save a lot of time when doing my day to day job because I can get to my firewall virtually anywhere.
• I feel a lot safer and my business more secure knowing that I have configured things the way they need to be and it was simple and not overly complicated.

Incentivized

• With the advent of the Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG), we have reduced by 95% the number of internal security incidents and events.
• As a result, we have reduced the effort and cost of investigating security incidents.
• Knock on wood, as a result, and we have never had any data or security breaches.