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Best affordable firewall for small businesses

By Andrew Harmon

Posted On May 29, 2020

Best affordable firewall for small businesses

firewall price firewalls small business firewalls SMB

Affordable firewalls that won’t leave you dreaming of bigger budgets

Affordable firewalls are a necessity for small businesses. Especially if they need strong network security in place fast. However, finding an affordable firewall can be tough. Not sure sure how to find SMB firewalls that give real bang for the buck?

Find the best affordable firewall you can rely on for years to come with a few options Firewalls.com recommends:

**What sets an affordable firewall apart from a cheap firewall?**

Firstly, what do we mean by an affordable firewall? We mean a next generation firewall that reliably delivers high-speed performance and advanced security at a cost-efficient “pound for pound” level. Many third party authorities such as NSS Labs and Gartner measure and quantify high quality, affordable firewalls. This is often done with metrics like “Total Cost of Ownership” and “Price per Protected Mbps.”

Firewall vendors are constantly racing to extend enterprise-grade, multi-gig firewalls to smaller and smaller user bases. The Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) era has grown fully ripe. Now savvy SMBs can get even newer next-er generations of NGFWs. If they know where to look.

Fortinet 40F – Affordable firewall with jaw-dropping stats

The FortiGate 40F launched in 2020 as part of Fortinet’s new F-Series firewalls. The tiny titan FortiGate 40F can reach speeds of up to 5 Gigabits per second. That’s twice as fast as the FG-50E which costs over $50 more! And don’t forget its purpose-built processor for top-notch Secure SD-WAN capabilities.

The tech specs for the FG-40F are insane for such an affordable firewall.

SonicWall TZ 350 – Affordable firewall built to stop ransomware

SonicWall launched the TZ series as NGFWs for SMBs. Now the next gen of NGFWs are sprouting up with new additions like the SonicWall SOHO 250 and SonicWall TZ 350. The SonicWall TZ350 is faster and supports more SSL VPN licenses than the TZ300.

With SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) enabled, you get a super fast cloud-based sandbox that uses AI and behavior-based scans. First, identify potential threats. Then isolate them in quarantine. Finally, detonate them before they can touch your network. This squashes the threat of ransomware right in your inbox.

Sophos XG 106 – Affordable firewall with added on-board memory

The Sophos XG 106 is a major revision of the XG 105. The XG 106 includes upgraded onboard memory RAM. XG firewalls use an integrated Solid State Drive (SSD).

Sophos XG firewalls are affordable, but still satisfy the cravings of network admins looking for advanced features, increased visibility & control, and synchronized real-time security.

WatchGuard T35 – Affordable firewall made to grow with you

WatchGuard T-Series Firebox appliances are built with scalability in mind. That means if your small business doesn’t stay a small business, you can easily expand your network security setup without having to rip and replace from the ground up.

The term “future-proof” is often used to describe the T-Series. WatchGuard makes it easy to upgrade existing services and add emerging tech to your current setup.

SonicWall Support: How to Support Your SonicWall

By Andrew Harmon

Posted On May 18, 2020

SonicWall Support: How to Support Your SonicWall

firewall professional services SonicWALL sonicwall support

What is SonicWall Support…And why do I need it?

A SonicWall firewall is an important purchase. It’s an investment showing that you recognize the need to protect your network from the many cyber threats out there today. But to truly ensure you have that secure network through thick and thin, you need someone backing you – and it – up. That’s where SonicWall Support comes in to lend a hand. What do you get with SonicWall Support?

Software and Firmware Updates

We know that cyber threats are ever evolving. And never before seen vulnerabilities can pop up out of the blue. A SonicWall Support subscription gets you any software and firmware updates needed to patch those unforeseen holes. That means you don’t need to search out updates or worry if you’ll be able to load them. Just like Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Joey, and even Ross – they’ll be there for you. Oh, and the same goes for any software or firmware upgrades while your subscription is active.

Advance Hardware Replacement

If it seems like something’s wrong with your firewall, SonicWall Support will work with you to see if a replacement is needed. If so, you’ll receive a Returned Material Authorization or RMA number. And most importantly, SonicWall will ship you a replacement unit for next business day delivery. The replacement appliance will even automatically have your registration information and subscription services transferred to it. All you’ll need to do is return your defective device, with shipping paid by SonicWall.

Technical Support

Simply put, when you have a question or issue, you can reach out for help in whatever contact method you prefer. You get an expert on the other end of the phone, an online chat, or an email. They’ll help you troubleshoot your issue with knowledgeable technical support. You can go with 8×5 Support – which is available during business hours Monday through Friday in your time zone. Go for 24×7 Support to ensure there’s always someone at your beck and call immediately, because trouble doesn’t care what time it is.

SonicWall Support also equips you with tools to support yourself. There’s a knowledge base offering detailed documentation. And moderated discussion groups through the SonicWall Community allow you to collaborate with others to solve common problems.

Beyond Support

Keep in mind, SonicWall Support specialists are there to ensure your products perform up to specifications – so not every question or situation may qualify. The good news is, if you need more advanced support there’s an option for you as well. To ensure you’ll always have answers to any questions about your network – you’ll want to go managed. That is, a managed security subscription through Firewalls.com.

Our Managed Security Service takes you beyond support – with certified engineers offering configuration updates, help with any network issues you may have, assistance with those software or firmware updates, help with equipment repair or replacement, and more. That more includes 24×7 monitoring of your firewall with quarterly checkups and web-based reporting. In fact, you can expect a call from us offering a fix to an issue or a configuration tweak to optimize your network. That proactive monitoring means solutions come before problems take down your network. And signing up for Managed Services requires no contract – they operate with flexible month to month subscriptions. Visit our Professional Services page to learn more, or call 866-645-2140 to get started.

How Do I Get SonicWall Support?

SonicWall Support is available in a variety of ways (and for a variety of products). The simplest – and best – way to get a support subscription is through a TotalSecure Advanced Edition bundle. The bundle includes SonicWall hardware plus Advanced Gateway Security Suite, which includes 24×7 support plus just about any other key security service you can think of. If you want to go the a la carte route, both 8×5 and Standard Support subscription options are also available, but the bundle is the way to go for total network protection from any threat.

Ruckus Wireless indoor & outdoor wireless APs fit any budget

By Andrew Harmon

Posted On May 11, 2020

ruckus wap

Ruckus Wireless indoor & outdoor wireless APs fit any budget

Ruckus Wireless takes wireless security to the next level with its ZoneFlex and Unleashed wireless access point families. Ruckus is shaping the future of connectivity – its ICX network switches can make even the most complex wireless network deployments possible. Whether you’re looking to extend fast, secure Wi-Fi to a classroom, hotel room, or hospital room, Ruckus Wireless has you covered with high-performance, next generation appliances.

Ruckus security made easy

Small businesses, retail spaces, hotels, schools–no matter the venue, wireless devices are multiplying and growing hungrier for bandwidth every year. Running a small business in 2020 means secure, high-performance wireless connectivity is a necessity, not a luxury. Ruckus security services mixed with the lightning fast speeds of its security processors means you don’t have to sacrifice speed for safety.

Not every small business has the budget or IT talent to handle a complex wireless network configuration. And still fewer SMBs have the spare time to manage a wireless security infrastructure once deployed, but Ruckus makes deployments simpler with intuitive management dashboards, affordable prices, and controller-less solutions like Ruckus Unleashed access points.

Choosing the right Ruckus AP

ZoneFlex R-Series Access Points are great for:

Cafeterias, classrooms, & campuses
Small offices & retail locations
Convention floors
Hotel lobbies, guest rooms, & hallways

ZoneFlex T-Series Access Points are great for:

Outdoor hospitality spaces & common areas
Campus quads & satellite classrooms
Harbors, ports, beachside, & marinas
Outdoor venues & sports stadiums

ZoneFlex H-Series Access Points are great for:

Hotel guest rooms
Classrooms & hospital rooms
University residence halls

Ruckus ICX Network Switches

Ruckus ICX network switches combine enterprise-grade security features with intuitive management and a flexible solution that lets small businesses easily scale up their switch solution by stacking additional network switches. If you’re paying your ISP for a gigabit Ethernet connection, why lose it to the network? Ruckus Wireless ICX switches deliver high-performance uplinks to small and mid-sized businesses.

TZ Firewall – Entry level firewalls for small businesses

By Andrew Harmon

Posted On May 1, 2020

TZ Firewall – Entry level firewalls for small businesses

firewalls SonicWALL tz

Which TZ firewall is right for your small business?

SonicWall TZ firewalls have been securing small business networks for over a decade, and these next generation firewalls continue to evolve even to this day, with highly acclaimed new entries like the SonicWall TZ350. So what makes the SonicWall TZ firewall such a mainstay on network security shortlists?

Entry-level firewalls with out of this world features

Advances in throughput and processing allow SonicWall TZ firewalls to pull off some slick tricks. For example, the new SonicWall SOHO 250 (classified as a TZ firewall) extends the capability to use Capture ATP cloud-based sandboxing even in a home office setting. Imagine having that level of advanced, enterprise-grade protection on your home network! The kids have a sandbox in the backyard, and you’ve got one guarding your family photos.

TZ Firewalls scan for zero day and other unknown cyber threats with behavior-based scanning that pairs machine learning with an ever-expanding archive of global threat intelligence. Fileless malware and memory exploits are put to rest by SonicWall TZ firewalls using Real Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI), which can detect threats in fractions of a nanosecond. To stop ransomware and encrypted threats, TZ firewalls scan the entirety of all inbound and outbound traffic across multiple security processors with Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI).

Real Time Deep Memory Inspection

Included in SonicWall Capture Cloud
Spot threats before they demonstrate malicious behavior
Hackers cannot hide behind custom encryption
Detects threats in less than 100 nanoseconds
Learn more about RTDMI

Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection

Included with every SonicWall TZ firewall
Scan inbound & outbound data with very low latency
High-speed traffic analysis with no buffering or proxying
Stop evasion techniques that most engines miss
Learn more about RFDPI

SonicWall sizing guides make it easy to compare TZ firewalls

Deciding which TZ firewall is right for your small business network can take some serious consideration. Maybe your small office would benefit from the power-over-ethernet features of the SonicWall TZ300-POE or TZ600-POE models. Most TZ firewalls also support wireless networking such as the SonicWall TZ350 Wireless-AC or TZ400 Wireless-AC. Which TZ firewall you choose ultimately comes down to your unique needs as a small business.

Tips for finding the right firewall fast

Use the firewall sizing guide on our Homepage
Filter by other options & features in the sidebar
Compare options on the TZ firewall comparison page
Live chat with our certified experts for better pricing

Firewalls.com offers a SonicWall TZ firewall comparison page where you can easily navigate TZ firewall specs and highlight rows to compare entry level firewalls. If you’re looking for something a little bigger, we also offer SonicWall comparison pages for mid-sized NSa firewalls and enterprise NSa firewalls.

If you want to go straight to the source, check out our network security datasheets page where you’ll find all the latest datasheets and spec sheets for SonicWall, Sophos, Fortinet, WatchGuard, Barracuda, Cisco Meraki, and Ruckus Wireless.

TZ firewall experts on your schedule

Deciding which firewall your small business will rely on as a primary method of protecting both company and customer data is a big, big step. Plus, these are super complicated appliances that should never be chosen on a whim!

Firewalls.com employs a team of experts that has been both trained and certified by the manufacturer partners we represent. That means when you click on the Live Chat button, you’re connecting with a real person who lives and breathes TZ firewalls full time. Chat or call 317-754-7914 to get special pricing, expert recommendations, and all of your TZ firewall questions answered fast.

What is a firewall? Why does my business need a firewall?

By Andrew Harmon

Posted On April 24, 2020

What is a firewall? Why does my business need a firewall?

firewall Firewall configuration firewalls

What is a firewall & why do I need a firewall?

What is a firewall exactly? Here at Firewalls.com, we believe that firewalls are not only your primary line of defense against advanced threats but also the heart of your larger network security environment. Firewalls keep users safe as they use the Internet, send or receive emails, and access company files. Firewalls scan all incoming and outgoing traffic on your network, choosing to either permit or block any data packet they read.

By configuring your firewall with a set of common sense security rules and policies, you can safeguard your confidential data against hackers. By analyzing traffic at your network’s entry points, firewalls are able to keep potential threats out while letting employees and business applications communicate safely across the open web.

How do firewalls work?

Firewalls work by monitoring inbound and outbound traffic on your network. When a data packet requests access to your network, your firewall inspects the packet head to determine whether the request is valid or potentially dangerous. Next generation firewalls such as SonicWall TZ and SonicWall NSa firewalls go a step farther with Deep Packet Inspection, cracking open the entire data packet to inspect its contents before reaching a security determination.

Traditional firewalls relied on signature-based scanning to look out for threats. That meant that each packet’s contents were checked against a database of millions upon millions of known threat signatures. However, more advanced firewalls and endpoint protection platforms, such as Sophos XG, rely on machine learning and AI to make behavior-based verdicts. Super smart security engines actually think and learn inside your firewall, using global threat data to constantly improve their understanding of what a threat looks like, how it behaves, and how to stop it.

Firewall configuration

Why do businesses need to configure their firewall and how hard is a configuration? While some deployments can be fairly simple, most businesses should have a custom configuration for their primary firewall, tailored to suit the unique needs of their network. The firewall setup wizard just doesn’t cut it. Firewalls.com recommends that you entrust a certified firewall expert with the configuration of your firewall to ensure your attack surfaces are minimized, your firewall is stealthy, and no pesky bottlenecks are jamming up your Internet speeds.

A quality firewall configuration service should include a one-on-one discussion with your organization to determine how your network is used and what unique factors may present risks to your data. Phone-based deployment and post-deployment support are a must. You can simplify installation and minimize downtime by ensuring you have a knowledgeable support engineer on the line to walk you through every step. Want to see the steps involved in a configuration?

How many different types of firewalls are there?

Firewalls come in all shapes and specifications, so finding the right one for your network can be a challenge. While datasheets and firewall comparisons are easy to find, it can still be tough to wrap your head around what types of firewalls you can choose from. We’ll break down a few different ways firewalls are classified to help you better understand the appliance landscape.

Form Factors

Desktop Firewalls – Small, but powerful. Desktop firewalls are made with SMBs in mind & fit next to your favorite coffee mug
Rackmount Firewalls – Able to be mounted in any standard 19″ server rack with a rackmount kit
Virtual Firewalls – No appliance? No problem. Virtual firewalls live in the cloud & secure networks with no on-prem footprint

Firewall Sizing

Small Business Firewalls – Fit for home offices or SMBs up to 100 users, small business firewalls make advanced security affordable
Mid-Sized Firewalls – For businesses that need a bit more room for users & bandwidth, like SonicWall NSa series
Enterprise Firewalls – 2,500 users or more? Enterprise firewalls are security powerhouses with unmatched performance

Firewall Generations

Stateful Inspection Firewalls – Simple, signature-based analysis of inbound & outbound traffic
UTM Firewalls – Holistic appliances combining basic firewalling with multiple other security services & functions
Next Generation Firewalls – The latest generation of firewalls integrating entire networks in real time with machine learning

Firewalls. Defined.

Curious for more information about firewalls, network security, or cyber threats? The Firewalls.com Knowledge Hub is crammed full of resources to learn how firewalls work and understand what kinds of firewalls there are. Check out our firewall podcast or subscribe to our YouTube channel for firewall reviews, firewall comparisons, tutorials, and more.

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