Advice required: New Firebox purchase

We currently use a Symantec Gateway Security firewall for internal and
external security. It is the former Axent product, upgraded and
rebranded. I have had no issues with the appliance, but Symantec is
ending development on the whole family of products.

I'm off to find a less dead product. I've arrived at a Firebox x750e
with the UTM bundle and "pro" software. We're demo-ing it. I got a
stellar price on the appliance. My major problems are the configurator
application, and tech support.

To put it mildly, I have a problem communicating with the techs.
First, it takes hours and hours to get responses. You don't call
them, they call you. Then its a struggle to get them to understand
your questions and problems. And its a struggle to understand their
answers. I've gotten no satisfaction heretofore on any of my open
tickets, and they were just config questions. I don't know what they
are like in network down emergency.

The config app is the pits. Granted, the Axent and 1st generation SGS
configurators weren't stellar, but they made significant improvments
over the years. This app, while snappy, is terrible for more than a
basic firewall config.

Should I just toughen up and push through the configuration issues...
Will watchguard tech support be as responsive as they would need to be
in a network down emergency?

Is there a better firewall out there for the same money?

TIA

Re: Advice required: New Firebox purchase

CG wrote:

> [...]
>
> Is there a better firewall out there [than Watchguard]

List your requirements, write them down and check models from diffrent
vendors against this list of requirements. Maybe even test several of them.

> for the same money?

Price is the last question when evaluating firewall products and a lower
price might not be important if a product does not meet the technical
specifications you demand.

Wolfgang

Re: Advice required: New Firebox purchase

On Jan 12, 10:22 pm, CG wrote:
> We currently use a Symantec Gateway Security firewall for internal and
> external security. It is the former Axent product, upgraded and
> rebranded. I have had no issues with the appliance, but Symantec is
> ending development on the whole family of products.
>
> I'm off to find a less dead product. I've arrived at a Firebox x750e
> with the UTM bundle and "pro" software. We're demo-ing it. I got a
> stellar price on the appliance. My major problems are the configurator
> application, and tech support.
>
> To put it mildly, I have a problem communicating with the techs.
> First, it takes hours and hours to get responses. You don't call
> them, they call you. Then its a struggle to get them to understand
> your questions and problems. And its a struggle to understand their
> answers. I've gotten no satisfaction heretofore on any of my open
> tickets, and they were just config questions. I don't know what they
> are like in network down emergency.
>
> The config app is the pits. Granted, the Axent and 1st generation SGS
> configurators weren't stellar, but they made significant improvments
> over the years. This app, while snappy, is terrible for more than a
> basic firewall config.
>
> Should I just toughen up and push through the configuration issues...
> Will watchguard tech support be as responsive as they would need to be
> in a network down emergency?
>
> Is there a better firewall out there for the same money?
>
> TIA

You might take a look at Sonicwall. One of their strengths is ease of
configuration. I've had good and bad experiences with their support.

- Trevor

Re: Advice required: New Firebox purchase

i suppose u r a <500 user company so y dont u look for solutions from
fortinet u could get better value for money....


On Jan 13, 9:22=A0am, CG wrote:
> We currently use a Symantec Gateway Security firewall for internal and
> external security. It is the former Axent product, upgraded and
> rebranded. I have had no issues with the appliance, but Symantec is
> ending development on the whole family of products.
>
> I'm off to find a less dead product. I've arrived at a Firebox x750e
> with the UTM bundle and "pro" software. We're demo-ing it. I got a
> stellar price on the appliance. My major problems are the configurator
> application, and tech support.
>
> To put it mildly, I have a problem communicating with the techs.
> First, it takes =A0hours and hours to get responses. You don't call
> them, they call you. Then its a struggle to get them to understand
> your questions and problems. And its a struggle to understand their
> answers. I've gotten no satisfaction heretofore on any of my open
> tickets, and they were just config questions. I don't know what they
> are like in =A0network down emergency.
>
> The config app is the pits. Granted, the Axent and 1st generation SGS
> configurators weren't stellar, but they made significant improvments
> over the years. This app, while snappy, is terrible for more than a
> basic firewall config.
>
> Should I just toughen up and push through the configuration issues...
> Will watchguard tech support be as responsive as they would need to be
> in a network down emergency?
>
> Is there a better firewall out there for the same money?
>
> TIA

Re: Advice required: New Firebox purchase

In article <8e61145b-be3f-4d3c-b723-ba447cbfa8f6
@q77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>, cgamache@gmail.com says...
> We currently use a Symantec Gateway Security firewall for internal and
> external security. It is the former Axent product, upgraded and
> rebranded. I have had no issues with the appliance, but Symantec is
> ending development on the whole family of products.
>
> I'm off to find a less dead product. I've arrived at a Firebox x750e
> with the UTM bundle and "pro" software. We're demo-ing it. I got a
> stellar price on the appliance. My major problems are the configurator
> application, and tech support.
>
> To put it mildly, I have a problem communicating with the techs.
> First, it takes hours and hours to get responses. You don't call
> them, they call you. Then its a struggle to get them to understand
> your questions and problems. And its a struggle to understand their
> answers. I've gotten no satisfaction heretofore on any of my open
> tickets, and they were just config questions. I don't know what they
> are like in network down emergency.
>
> The config app is the pits. Granted, the Axent and 1st generation SGS
> configurators weren't stellar, but they made significant improvments
> over the years. This app, while snappy, is terrible for more than a
> basic firewall config.
>
> Should I just toughen up and push through the configuration issues...
> Will watchguard tech support be as responsive as they would need to be
> in a network down emergency?
>
> Is there a better firewall out there for the same money?

I've got 80+ Firebox units in the field, all of them were easy to setup
and maintain once you understand the basics. If you've not had any
training on firewalls then this will be a foreign thing to you.

The app is great for basic and even better for complex configurations,
it's actually very easy to understand and easy to setup/configure.

Why didn't you get help from the Partner that sold it to you?


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