Top 9 Firewall Devices

There are some malicious people in this world that gain enjoyment or financial benefit from harming other people's computers or by stealing their personal information. One way to protect against this is to place a firewall between the computer and the connection to the Internet. A firewall is a great security feature for computer networks, as well as for individual computers. Having the right firewall in place keeps a computer safe from hackers, as well as prying eyes.

1	Dell SonicWall TZ 215 Firewall Device

The SonicWall appliance is made by Dell Computers. It features what they call a UTM or "Unified Threat Management" firewall that aids in delivering effective protection against malware and intrusions, providing superior content or URL filtering. It performs comprehensive deep packet inspection that doesn't diminish network performance at all. It ensures that there is alwaysavailable bandwidth when needed. The company boasts that the TZ 215 is the only UTM firewall that is available on the market that provides a native SSL VPN remote access client for all iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems.

Specifications
* Interface: 7 GbE, 1 Console Interface, 2 USB * Throughput: 110 Mbps * VPN: PPPoE

2	Fortinet FortiWifi 40C

This is very ideal for small businesses and retail stores, offering many of the security functions that the larger firewall devices have, but is condensed into a smaller package at a lower price than some of the bigger devices cost. It is enterprise grade security at entry level pricing.

Specifications
* Interface: 2 x 10/100/1000 WAN port, 5 x 10/100/1000 switch port * Throughput: 60 Mbps * VPN: IPSec

3	Juniper SSG 140 Firewall Device

The SSG firewall device by Juniper is considered to be a fairly middle of the road appliance. It delivers phenomenal performance for small to medium sized businesses, offering security to stop both internal and external attacks on the network. The other standout aspect about this device is the number of I/O expansion slots for such a small device. It is built to be modular so it easily expands to provide all the security needed for a growing business with relative ease.

Specifications
* Interface: USB with 4 Physical Interface Module or PIM Expansion Slots * Throughput: 350 Mbps * VPN: IPSec

4	WatchGuard XTM 25-W Firewall Device

The WatchGuard XTM series 2 firewall appliances delivers a high level of performance driven security. Two features that stick out about the WatchGuard XTM are that it has both full HTTPS inspection and VoIP support to go along with its other security features. It has built in wireless security capabilities utilizing the latest dual-band 802.11n technology. It offers an affordable solution for small businesses.

Specifications
* Interface: 5 x 10/100/1000, 1 Serial, 1 USB * Throughput: 240 Mbps * VPN: IPSec

5	Netgear ProSecure UTM10 Firewall Device

This firewall device is another one that offers Unified Threat Management or UTM to provide comprehensive security coverage. It features a proprietary technology from Netgear called Stream Scanning Technology. It utilizes Netgear's own extensive database of antivirus and anti-malware code to thwart attacks faster. This allows for up to five times the scanning speed as data packets are transferred. It uses cloud technology to set up filters that speeds up performance even more.

Specifications
* Interface: 4 x 10/100/1000 and 1 USB * Throughput: 133 Mbps * VPN: IPSec

6	Cisco ASA 5510

This particular Cisco firewall device features what they classify as an adaptive security appliance. It is one of the more powerful firewall devices from Cisco, featuring some of the best security and VPN services that Cisco has to offer. The firewall stops attacks immediately and keeps them from spreading to the rest of the network. It gives maximum flexibility and protection using a flexible VPN connectivity. It is one of the least costly to deploy within its class of firewall devices.

Specifications
* Interface: 4 x 10/100/1000 and 2 USB * Throughput: 170 Mbps * VPN: IPSec

7	Barracuda Web Filter Firewall 210 Firewall Device

This is one of the lower-end of the Web Filter Firewallsfrom Barracuda. There are seven different models in this lineup. The 210 features content filtering, application control, advanced policy creation, network threat protection, spyware removal, and a whole lot more. It offers a lot of customizable security solutions and is very affordable, making it perfect for any small to medium sized business. The best feature about the Web Filter Firewalls is that it is stackable, meaning that it is very easy to expand when needed.

Specifications
* Interface: 1 x 10/100 and 2 USB * Throughput: 10 Mbps * VPN: SSL VPN

8	Juniper ISG 1000

This is ideal for enterprise and service provider networks. The Integrated Security Gateways or ISG offers more than just the firewall with VPN, IDS, and Web filtering features. It has an optional IPS and virtual systems support. The ISG 1000 is the smaller version of the ISG 2000, but certainly packs quite a punch. It is robust enough to handle 10,000 policies and 500,000 sessions. This is a very powerful appliance that takes care of most needs.

Specifications
* Interface: 4 x 10/100/1000 or up to 8 mini GBIC TX, LX, or SX or up to 8 10/100/1000 or up to 20 10/100 or up to 2 10GE * Throughput: 2 Gbps * VPN: 1G 3DES/AES

9	Cisco ASA 5555-X Firewall Device

Most advanced firewall device that Cisco has made to date. It is more than just the firewall, featuring integrated and market-leading security services for the networks of small to medium sized businesses and even on the enterprise level as well. It is flexible and has modular scalability, meaning that the appliances can be stacked together in a network to provide security as the company grows. The deployment is very cost effective with the ASA series.

Specifications
* Interface: 6 x 10/100/1000, 6-port GE SFP SX, LH, LX * Throughput: 4 Gbps * VPN: 3DES/AES

Finding Firewall Devices 

To find the right firewall device , start by determining the needed throughput and the desired VPN technology. Both of these specifications vary quite drastically from one model to another. The throughput is basically the amount of data that the firewall device can handle at one time. The larger the network traffic, the larger the throughput needs to be. The VPN is just the software and architecture that controls the security measures on the firewall device. AES stands for Advanced Encryption Security and is considered one of the most secure ways of protection.
The other component to consider searching for is scalability. Not all firewall devices are capable of being able to become part of a larger network. If expansion might be needed in the future, then perform a search for a modular firewall device. These are the ones that are mounted on a server rack and they are easily networked together to create an even larger firewall to protect the network as the business expands.

Conclusion

A person can spend as much or as little as they want when it comes to firewall devices. The important consideration to remember is that buying the cheapest one is not always the best choice. Look for a firewall device that is solidly built to withstand the rigors of high-speed internet traffic. Flexibility, power, and speed are the key components to consider for a secure firewall.