Item: WatchGuard Network Security
Rating: 10
Author: Tyler Brooks

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it both internally by way of their NFR program for partners and deploy it at our managed service and break-fix clients. Over the past 6 or 7 years, WatchGuard's network security appliances have become the backbone of our network security across all of our clients. If they haven't already been migrated to one of their appliances, then we are currently in talks to have that migration performed.

Pros and Cons

VLAN
ACLs
Mobile VPN.
BOVPN (persistent site to site vpns).

Poor Integrated Wireless on lower end appliances.
Require license for all WAP's.
Firmware upgrades from WebUI can be finicky.

Return on Investment

Watchguard has allowed us to implement improved network protections across many clients in a simple and user-friendly way.
When COVID lockdowns started, we were able to quickly and securely pivot our clients to support remote operations based on Watchguard VPNs.
It has allowed us to centralize logging across our remote clients, simplifying monitoring and analysis.

WatchGuard Network Security Partner

N/A

WatchGuard Network Security Packaging and Licensing

This approach makes managing and maintaining the appliances much simpler as we no longer need to track multiple module licenses and ensure that these licenses are renewed and kept up to date across dozens of devices individually. We just need to keep track of the license level and renewal date for each device, saving time and effort.

Alternatives Considered

SonicWall TZ

We used Sonicwall appliances for a number of years and, generally speaking, found them ok to work with except for in two areas. Sonicwall's seem to make even simple tasks complex to complete, creating opportunities for missed steps and headaches. We also found that the appliances themselves tended to fail more frequently; we've had only two Watchguard appliances fail before they were end-of-life (both were rapidly replaced under their warranty). While almost every Sonicwall appliance we deployed failed after 4 or 5 years.

Other Software Used

Bitdefender GravityZone, Barracuda Email Security Gateway

Key Insights

Do you think WatchGuard Network Security delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with WatchGuard Network Security's feature set?

Yes

Did WatchGuard Network Security live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of WatchGuard Network Security go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy WatchGuard Network Security again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

Watchguards stand out when deployed at SMB clients where the network infrastructure is relatively straightforward and doesn't require a particularly complex implementation. There is excellent support for VLANs, Firewall ACL,s and VPNs, however, extremely complex implementations requiring a large number of rule sets are less user-friendly to implement, and lend themselves more to CLI-based devices.

Great UTM Appliances for SMB.

Overall Satisfaction with WatchGuard Network Security