Discover how SonicWALL solutions stand out from the rest...
Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) have rapidly become a must-have countermeasure for today’s security and compliance conscious organisations.
Simply put, this is because NGFWs overcome the deficiencies and challenges of conventional, stateful inspection firewalls that rely solely on IP addresses, ports, and protocols for classifying and controlling network traffic. In particular, by adding application awareness and control, integrated threat prevention, and the ability to account for other contextual information (e.g., user identity) on top of legacy network-layer capabilities.
- Provide the ability to effectively control exactly which applications are being used on the network, how they are being used, and who is using them while also preventing associated threats, despite the fact that the majority of applications now rely on only a handful of protocols (e.g., HTTP and HTTPS), and the proliferation of evasive techniques such as the use of non-standard ports, protocol tunneling, SSL encryption, and port-hopping
- Reduce device sprawl, network complexity, and the inevitable gaps in one’s defenses by obviating the need for numerous “helper” products (e.g., standalone network IPS, gateway anti-virus, URL/content filtering, etc.)
At least that is the case in theory. As the saying goes, however, the devil is in the details. In reality, there is considerable variation from one product to the next in terms of how NGFW capabilities are being achieved, and, therefore, in terms of how well they deliver on their supposed value propositions.
The purpose of this article is threefold: to expose some of the variability and associated weaknesses of competing products; to arm evaluators with the means to further reveal similar differences and deficiencies; and, to highlight why your organisation’s next firewall purchase should be a Next-Generation Firewall from SonicWALL. In particular, this article examines six crucial areas of NGFW characteristics. In each case, a general description of the area is provided, followed by explanation of SonicWALL’s strengths and capabilities in that area, enumeration of competitor shortcomings, and identification of probing questions NGFW purchasers can use to help obtain essential details and reveal the true capabilities of the products they are considering.
