Smoothwall UTM is a firewall security suite for educational environments. It includes the standard firewall services, as well as load balancing, and has hardware and software deployment options.
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WatchGuard Network Security
Score 8.6 out of 10
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WatchGuard Network Security is a network security and firewall software. WatchGuard includes secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services designed for SMB’s.
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.
WatchGuard Network Security is well suited for everyone's needs but isn't well suited for a price conscience consume. They are overpriced for what they are and have a semi enclosed licensing model, so it's hard to use them after their 5-year life cycle has expired. You are forced into another model once your device is EOL even if the device is more than what you need hardware wise.
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
Sometimes, it is not very intuitive. You'll not know how to use certain features unless you read the documentation.
Some settings in the firebox are not visible unless you enter edit mode. This can cause inadvertent issues if you make a change when you just want to review the settings.
The use of blocks in the design of the Firewatch interface can be confusing. A better design could have been used.
I'm giving this note to WatchGuard Network Security due to its ease of daily support (after acquiring necessary knowledge in the solution), which allows agility in configuration changes, its integration of several reliable security features (such as SSL VPN, VPN Virtual Interfaces between companies, and others) and functional and stability in operation, with no downtime in the equipment due to problems or malfunctions
Although it might take some time to figure out, we have been able to use WatchGuard's online reference library and tech support to create/implement/modify all of our filtering rules and exceptions needed. There really has not been a shortcoming other than perhaps a learning curve.
Availability has always been a strong point of this product, it is rare that watchguard does not have a solution for customers' network monitoring needs.
The performance of WatchGuard Network Security is very good, in the years that we have used the solution we have only had a single error and Watchguard itself was able to solve it. Furthermore, when purchasing any product, the partner always evaluates the capacity of the solution to recommend the most appropriate product for our needs.
We have only had to contact them once during the initial set up to help bring the internet back on line. After that for the most part our systems have been automated, and could easily be checked form their online FAQ and Knowledge base that they provide. Everything else is easily handled from their browser based interface
We participate to a in person training and the three days of learning was really useful and complete to gain skill to solve the major part of the problem we encounter during our life. And more the in person training give us the opportunity to create a network with other WatchGuard partner.
I had my key information for setting up the firewall, and they assisted me in finding the settings and appropriate places to enter data. They also helped troubleshoot when I didn't understand some of their feature concepts, and we got it running.
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.
I honestly feel they're best in class, I've used other platforms but when it comes to comprehensive security I don't think they offer as many features, or the level of security that we needed. Again the support has been excellent for us too, and keeping our firewalls up to date has proven simple and pretty straight forward.
This product is very scalable since previously everything related to Watchguard was on premises but that has now changed with the inclusion of watchguard cloud. Now the product has evolved to have full control of firewalls at the cloud level.
Increased Productivity - uptime has greatly increased form old system. I believe the percentage would be a decrease in downtime of 35 to 40 percent.
Compliance and regulatory ROI has helped financially offering the WatchGuard Network Security setup for protection to our insurance company. This proof of security has saved us thousands of dollars on our liability insurance.
On the negative side - Performance overhead when implementing deep packet inspection and VPN encryption effect performance of WatchGuard Network Security.