Quick Eagle, Ingate offer joint router, security package

In a world where vendor partnerships usually consist of embedded software, corporate acquisitions and extensive integration, a recent partnership between Quick Eagle and Ingate is a refreshing change.  In this case, the two companies simply have products that work well together, so they are offering their respective router and security appliance in a bundle to give you a “package deal.”

In a move targeted at the small and midsized business market (and branch offices of larger companies), this co-marketing agreement combines Quick Eagle’s 4231 with Ingate’s Firewall 1200 firewall/VPN appliance.  The theory is that there’s no reason to combine the products into a single chassis if the two products work well together.  In fact, there’s a reasonable argument that combining too many functions into a single chassis ultimately results in a processing drain.

So for this combo, the Quick Eagle 4231 router sits closest to the network and provides a T-1 interface with an integrated DSU/CSU and performance monitoring software.  But before hitting the LAN, the traffic also passes through the Ingate Firewall 1200.  There’s also an option for implementing a quality-of-service (QoS) capability in the Firewall 1200.  Readers of the Network World “Convergence” newsletter will remember that the Ingate products are especially useful for intelligently handling Session Initiation Protocol traffic for voice-over-IP implementations.

The co-marketed equipment package includes the Quick Eagle router, the Ingate Firewall 1200, a patch cable to connect the two and a single instruction manual for both products.  There’s also a bundled package price advantage.  While the products separately have a combined list price of $2,245 (without the QoS option), the same products as a package are listed at $1,899.

Users can opt for technical support from either Quick Eagle or Ingate, because both suppliers are cross-trained to support both products.  For sales, the bundle is available directly from both companies and from Interlink Communication Systems.