Untangle NG Firewall vs. XenServer

Untangle is very strong in the "traditional" sense of security. That means an edge appliance that either works with an existing router or is the router itself (recommended). This approach has also been adapted well to cloud environments in order to protect virtual servers and VDI workstations. As mentioned earlier, many schools are using cloud-based filtering for their 1:1 solutions for their students. This is an area where Untangle is unable to serve. Some have used an instance of Untangle in the cloud with VPN to serve their remote needs, but it is not the same as solutions that are designed for cloud-based filtering of devices without VPN.

Incentivized

It can be really helpful & useful if we are using Citrix Hypervisor with other provisioning tools. Here are some specific scenarios where Citrix Hypervisor (formerly Citrix XenServer) is well-suited: Server Consolidation, Virtual Desktops, Disaster Recovery, Development & Testing Environments. On the other hand, there are some scenarios where Citrix Hypervisor may be less appropriate: Small-scale Deployments, Highly Heterogeneous Environments, and Limited Virtualization Requirements.

Incentivized

• Web Filtering is strong, and can also do application fingerprinting to allow Facebook, but not Facebook games. Secondly, a separate partition called a "rack" can be set up to give one subnet or group of users different web filtering policies than another. For example, teachers would get more freedom to browse the web than students at a school.
• Built-in SD-WAN connectivity as part of your license. IPSEC tunnel creation is also amazingly easy.
• Will install on any x86 hardware created in the last 5-10 years. Ram and processor requirements per user are very low.
• Reporting is phenomenal, however you can get death by details very easily.

Incentivized

• Citrix hypervisor does price very well for small organizations. It is free.
• Since this product is open source it does not have any type of vendor lockdown issues.
• Allows live migration of VM's so you can keep systems up and running when changes are needed to the hardware in the background.
• The GUI management tools are quite easy to learn.
• Has Snapshot capability which is a great way to protect against malware as well as do risk-free upgrades.

Incentivized

• The full suite can be expensive for business but will be powerful enough.
• The full suite for home or small office isn't that bad of a price but may be out of reach for most home users but remember the basics are FREE so anyone can get started with it.
• I would like to see it promoted for mid to large businesses as I think it can handle it.

Incentivized

• Adding or presenting additional storage to the host can often be a task that is far more involved than competitive products.
• The product can require reboots more frequently than competitors due to the DOM kernel getting "hung up".
• Sometimes when a virtual machine is deleted it still leaves behind orphaned vdisks.
• Recovering from the loss of a host can sometimes cause virtual machines to require lengthy command prompt scripting to fix so they can be powered back on from another host.

Incentivized

Service renewal is in Feb 2021. We will be renewing!

With the knowledge and usage of solutions from VMware and Microsoft offering more compelling cloud integrated options it makes it more compelling in many environments which I consult. XenServer is a good product and fits the bill in many smaller environments but as clients look to the cloud or a hybrid cloud it can in some cases make it a bit more difficult.

Incentivized

Generally works well but seeing more and more bugs with the OpenVPN app.

Incentivized

XenServer is a good product in its use and probably free if you have the right Citrix licenses already. However, it does require specific knowledge to manage, which makes it harder to manage if you don't have that knowledge in house.

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It's been a little problematic in the past at larger VDI deployments requiring a bit more care and feeding than other vendors. But the latest releases (6.5.x) have brought about huge improvements in the stability and availability.

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When running like a top XenServer is a fantastic hypervisor. There is relatively low overhead on the Dom0 so workloads get the most of the resources.

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The phone support reps are highly competent and native-English speakers. big plus vs some other vendors with difficult to understand or less knowledgable support engineers.

Incentivized

The staff I've worked with are very knowledgeable or able to get a very well articulated and capable support team member on the phone or helping them if necessary and they always want to ensure the best experience possible for you on the platform. The ability for the support team to reach out to hardware vendors for assistance is a nice plus too.

Incentivized

Part of a training for certification to become a trainer for Citrix included an in-person training with a Master CCI. The XenServer training at this time was pretty simplified due to the product primarily being installed however you did have to work with it and mildly configure the system.

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Haven't given it a real go with any online training however there are some options out there. I have taught a course following Citrix material for XenDesktop which leverages XenServer and it is pre-built so not the best for XenServer specifically for installation but configuration is mildly touched on

Incentivized

Ensure you review the HCL (hardware compatibility list) and reach out to the hardware vendors to ensure they support the platform and in case they have documentation that can be followed for the implementation. Also ensure the prerequisites are completed prior to implementation so that as few unexpected delays occur as you can control.

Incentivized

Untangle NG Firewall has a partnership with third parties to provide an amazing suite of applications. You pay for those. With free software, you have to wait for it to be updated. With Unifi, the hardware was too underpowered to do anything meaningful. I don't mind the monthly fees because these companies update quickly; they have a reputation to maintain.

Incentivized

Feature for feature they are neck and neck. I have used Hyper-V 2012 and 2016, VMware ESXi and XenServer evenly. XenServer is a fast install, good documentation, with enterprise features out the box that compare or exceed what VMWare offered with a higher cost of entry.

Incentivized

The servers latest versions have made massive improvements to scalability. But from past experience there have been issues when running workloads for extended periods of time without reboot on the hosts. I would need to run similar workloads on the 6.5 release which has changed much of the bottlenecks or issues so I'd imagine its far more capable now, Perhaps able to stand near the best in the market.

Incentivized

• It's allowed us to be PCI compliant which we need to do business.
• It's allowed us to not only be PCI compliant but follow best practice to be actually as secure as we can be.
• It's really presented us with a lot of flexibility in terms of how we connect to other services.
• There is some maintenance, but it's very minimal.

Incentivized

• Xenserver is easy to learn. We paid for support only for installation and deployment in the first three years, and now our team has the knowledge to solve most problems.
• Low CAPEX if you have a team that uses open source software day by day.
• But paid support is necessary to solve critical problems. The open source community is not enough. Actually, we have difficulty solving some bugs without paying for support.
• Medium OPEX if you have a team that uses open source software day by day.

Incentivized