UTM Firewall / Security Gateway

A router that only forwards packets leaves every security decision to whatever sits behind it. A unified threat management appliance puts the firewall, the VPN, intrusion prevention and content filtering into one box at the edge, under one policy set. For a branch or a small data centre that is simpler than stacking four devices and keeping four rule sets in step. Throughput is the number that matters, and it has to be quoted with the inspection features switched on.

How it is specified

• Firewall throughput, and the throughput with inspection enabled
• WAN and LAN port count and speed, and whether SFP ports are included
• VPN: site-to-site tunnels, remote access users, and the protocols supported
• Intrusion prevention, antivirus and application control, and how signatures update
• High availability pairing, and whether session state is synchronised
• Management: local console, central console, or cloud
• Subscription term for the security services, and the behaviour when it lapses

Where it is used

• Branch offices and factory sites
• Small and edge data centres
• Campus network borders
• Segmented industrial networks