Reviews /
Wanted: Safety plus simplicity
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Firewall veterans set the bar for security features; newcomers succeed by making configuration easy.
Scorecard
| Sec- ur- ity feat- ures 30% | Config 25% | Re- port- ing and alert- ing 25% | In- stall 10% | Doc- umen- ta- tion 10% | T O T A L | |
| Raptor Firewall 6.0 | 8 x 0.30 = 2.40 | 7 x 0.25 = 1.75 | 8 x 0.25 = 2.00 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 7.55 |
| SonicWall Pro 3.3.1 | 6 x 0.30 = 1.80 | 8 x 0.25 = 2.00 | 7 x 0.25 = 1.75 | 8 x 0.10 = 0.80 | 6 x 0.10 = 0.60 | 6.95 |
| Conclave 2 | 6 x 0.30 = 1.80 | 9 x 0.25 = 2.25 | 6 x 0.25 = 1.50 | 6 x 0.10 = 0.60 | 6 x 0.10 = 0.60 | 6.75 |
| Sidewinder Security Server 4.1 | 7 x 0.30 = 2.10 | 6 x 0.25 = 1.50 | 7 x 0.25 = 1.75 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 6.75 |
| Gauntlet Firewall 5.0 | 7 x 0.30 = 2.10 | 5 x 0.25 = 1.25 | 8 x 0.25 = 2.00 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 5 x 0.10 = 0.50 | 6.55 |
| eNetwork Firewall 3.3 | 5 x 0.30 = 1.50 | 6 x 0.25 = 1.50 | 7 x 0.25 = 1.75 | 7 x 0.10 = 0.70 | 6 x 0.10 = 0.60 | 6.05 |
Note: Products are ranked on a 1-10 scale in each category, then multiplied by the weight in each category. These are added to give a total score.
NetResults
SonicWall Pro 3.3.1
Sonic Systems
(888) 557-6642
$2,995 for unlimited users
Pros: Easy to configure; Fast to install
Cons: Limited set of options and proxies; No dual DNS support
Conclave 2
Internet Dynamics
(805) 370-2200
Pricing starts at $2,845 for 25 users
Pros: Outstanding user interface; Easy-to-validate configurations
Cons: Proxies are thin for an enterprise firewall; No dual DNS support
Sidewinder Security Server 4.1
Secure Computing
(800) 379-4944
Pricing starts at $6,900 for 100 users
Pros: Excellent performance ;Mandatory access controls if you want to run services
Cons: Need to know Unix to run the firewall properly
Gauntlet Firewall 5.0
Network Associates
(408) 988-3832
Pricing starts at $1,600 for a one-year license for up to 100 users
Pros: Strong reporting; Broad set of proxies
Cons: Poor performance on NT; Hard to understand configuration
eNetwork Firewall 3.3
IBM
(800) 426-2255
Web site
Pricing starts at $2,499 for 25 users
Pros: SOCKS support; Bundled with many third-party plug-ins
Cons: Poor performance on NT; Difficult to configure; Cryptic logs and poor reporting
Poor built-in proxies
RELATED LINKS
Back to our firewall review
Firewall RFP
See what the vendors are responding to. Includes links to all the RFP responses.
Issues and trends
Where the firewall market is headed and what to look for. Network World, 7/19/99.
Interactive buyer's guide
Detailed specs on 52 models. Find the one that meets your criteria or compare two or more models on different specs.
