Item: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is our company-wide firewall and provides a back-up web filtering service to compliment an existing solution. It allows us to redirect traffic from outside of the physical building and provide a secure connection to a number of internally host web applications. It also provides a layer of security to our monitored CCTV solution.

Pros and Cons

Robust hardware (no failures in 6 years).
Relatively easy to manage.
Upgraded hardware every 4 years.

Difficult initial set-up for non-network proficient staff.
Web-filter reporting is not great.
Support can be quite difficult to reach.

Return on Investment

Secured network from outside threats.
Provides additional filtering.
Peace of mind in case of failure.

Alternatives Considered

Smoothwall SWG

We already use Smoothwall for our main web filtering and felt it would be more robust to have a failover service in case of hardware failure. Pricewise the 2 were comparable and both would have been an upgrade on the no longer supported Microsoft Threat Management gateway. We had also considered a cloud-based system from our ISP, but find them difficult to contact with regards to support.

Support Rating

Documents can often be a little too technical, and lacking in real-world application. No initial support was offered in the setting up of the device, although this may be the fault of the supplier as opposed to Barracuda themselves.

Usability

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.

Key Insights

Do you think Barracuda CloudGen Firewall delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's feature set?

Yes

Did Barracuda CloudGen Firewall live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall go as expected?

Would you buy Barracuda CloudGen Firewall again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Panda Adaptive Defense 360

Likelihood to Recommend

Well suited to a larger company with dedicated staff. Would possibly be a little complex for smaller businesses. There are a lot of functions that we don't use as a basic firewall would probably have sufficed, but the build quality and scope for future expansion make it worthwhile. Clearer documentation on how to enable features for specific scenarios would help us to get more out of it.

Small school review

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall (formerly NG Firewalls)