RackFoundry Total Security Management (discontinued) vs. Smoothwall UTM

RackFoundry Total Security Management (TSM) is suited for most companies that have the same challenge as my team had. If you are looking to purchase one security tool and spend most of your allocated budget then I would not recommend this for you. However, if you are looking for something close to a single pane of glass, (granted there is no such thing) this solution does come close as they have the main components built in such as their FW/IPS/IDS/SIEM. Before selecting RackFoundry we had two options which were: 1) Upgrade our current solution and spend an overbearing amount 2) Search for new vendors and maybe procure 1-3 devices and then manually integrate them. Because this was a unified console and integration between devices was simple, we were able to obtain 4-6 security functions and we even had some sense of security visibility via the SIEM. It's not as powerful as Splunk or LogRhythm, but it definitely does the job

After a year of using the Smoothwall UTM Firewall solution, we can say that it is a secure solution, it offers a graphical interface for configuration and access with easy understanding and usability, the security features and blocking of url and applications work very well and also protects against malware and ransomware. For small and even intermediate scenarios I recommend it, but not for very large scenarios. Licenses can be renewed and are priced very well compared to competitors.

Incentivized

• Making promises about a service and product.
• Advertising a good price and offering great services.
• Supposedly offer 24/7 365 level 1 threat triaging.

• easy to manage by its web platform that allows quick access to system functions
• allows the administration of the company's network by creating IP navigation permissions to prevent access to unprotected pages
• this system can be installed on computers with very few resources and even with old equipment just by adapting an additional network card. This is helpful for companies that are starting and do not have much capital to invest but need to protect their systems

Incentivized

• It has been my first year with Rack Foundry and at this point I have to say everything has been smooth, from implementation to support.

• Rare problems have been noticed when there are many connections at the same time.

Incentivized

Well I have experience with the big names: SecureWorks, IBM and Splunk. Individually their logging tools are much better than RackFoundry's Total Security Management. This is great for large corporations and urban cities, however not so great for municipalities, mid size businesses and companies who fluctuate between 1-7 members on their IT staff. Why? Because it takes too much of their resources and integration with other products gets a little rough as you will need to configure your preferences to theirs. When a company has stability it is great to have a name brand product, however renewals and upgrade costs can be taxing to an organization.

Smoothwall is a system that is cheaper than just a free license due to being a Linux distribution. Simplewall is a bit more for robust equipment or large networks.

Incentivized

• Overall the product has had a negative impact. Not necessarily on our environment but in the amount of time it has taken to deploy.

• Internal network security and intruder protection for a cost-effective solution.
• The solution contributed and greatly reduced malware attacks and ddos ​​attacks.
• Reports allowed more accurate analysis.

Incentivized