What is a Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls offer physical, virtual, and cloud-based options to secure networks wherever users are. That means they protect today’s cloud-connected users and their networks beyond the traditional perimeter.

So that’s the simple answer. But what makes CloudGen appliances stand out from the next generation firewall crowd? How about we go over what these firewalls have to offer when it comes to securing networks large and small.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Specs

Focusing on the physical, F-series firewalls come sized for just about any business need. Even the smallest of these, the F12, supports a substantial number of concurrent sessions. Starting at 80,000 for that model, the concurrent session count grows into the millions as you reach high-end devices.

Another important thing to note: F-series firewalls feature the same comprehensive security features you’ll count on to stay protected no matter the model. What features you may ask? Here are just a few:

Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
Application control
Dynamic routing
Application-based provider selection
SSL interception to read encrypted traffic
SD-WAN for simple, affordable, secure branch connectivity
Web filtering
Client-to-site and site-to-site VPN to connect your remote workforce

On top of all that, if you’re worried about your firewall supporting resource-intensive tasks, don’t fret. Tasks like sandboxing and more are offloaded seamlessly to the cloud. And with all of these features, getting your protection up and running is a snap too, with zero-touch deployment. We should mention too, that cloud-based and virtual models generally come standard with these very same features.

Barracuda Firewall Models

The Barracuda CloudGen family includes F-series hardware, VF-series virtual, and AWS, Azure, & Google cloud-based firewalls. Options span user counts of 5 to several thousand to protect networks of any size, anywhere. For example, the F-Series starts with the F12 and tops out at the F1000. On top of that, virtual varieties go from VF10 (for 10 IPs) to VF8000 (for an unlimited number). Finally, when navigating cloud-based firewalls, you start at Level 2 and work up to Level 8. And even more finally, choose the PAYG cloud firewall for a time-based, pay as you go model.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Price

Barracuda CloudGen firewalls offer a wide variety of security and networking features for competitive prices. For instance, the small business or branch office F12 retails for about $750. As we often say, you’ll want more than just the firewall to optimize your security. In addition to the many above-noted included features, Barracuda offers security services subscriptions on a monthly basis.

These feature options like advanced threat protection, advanced remote access, malware protection and more. In addition to the competitive prices of these services, their monthly nature gives you greater flexibility to make changes based on your evolving needs. All in all, Barracuda CloudGen firewalls have a lot to offer in today’s perimeter-less network environment.

Small business firewalls come in a variety of brands, sizes, and options. The firewall is the heart of your cyber security infrastructure, so choosing the right appliance to fit your small business will be a task requiring both insight and foresight. Below, you will find a handful of things that we believe all owners should consider before investing in small business firewalls.

Software vs Hardware

There exist two distinct types of firewalls: software and hardware. While virtual software-based firewalls are great at protecting individual users, they become costly and over-complicated when several users are trying to operate on one network. In this case, a hardware solution is better suited to the job. A single firewall appliance extends protection to all users on a network.

If your organization consists of just a few users, software firewalls could be a workable option. However, if your organization is made up of more than 3 or 4 users, a hardware appliance is an obvious improvement over their software counterparts.

Ease of Use

If you’re running a small business, chances are your payroll may not comfortably accommodate a full-time system administrator role. With other job roles and departments vying for bigger budgets and more attention, an info sec department that requires minimal upkeep is a godsend. Therefore, ease-of-use should play a key role in your decision when purchasing a firewall.

Firewall manufacturers are racing to accommodate the needs of small business owners who can’t dedicate entire workdays to studying the nuances of cyber security. This is accomplished by providing intuitive user interfaces, visualized reporting, and straight-forward alert systems.

Scalable

The ultimate goal of the small business is to grow. Success means more employees. Success means more complicated procedures and systems. Success means bigger networks, more data, and more numerous attack surfaces. Watchguard’s Extensible Threat Manage (XTM) is touted under the motto “future proof” because it was designed specifically to scale to changing needs.

Firewalls.com recommends hardware that is advertised to accommodate twice the number of users that currently inhabit your network. Not only does the extra strength ensure you’ll never run into performance issues, but it leaves you some breathing room for when your organization grows.

Versatility

Along similar lines to scalability, small business owners should consider how susceptible a firewall is to change. Small businesses have the unique ability to test several different programs and applications before deciding which ones best fit their goals. The software and web applications that you’re working with today may not be the same applications that your business utilizes next year.

If small business firewalls are going to survive the long haul, consider how the firewall interacts with the other hardware and software. Small businesses should never find themselves in a situation where their decision-making options dependent on whether their firewall can accommodate the changes or not. Look for appliances that are versatile, adaptable, and can play well with others.

The Sophos Intercept X endpoint protection was built to run alongside any other Anti-Virus clients in use.

TRY A FREE 30-DAY TRIAL OF INTERCEPT X

Configuration

Bad news. Your buyers’ journey is not over when you click “Confirm Order.” Save that sigh of relief until your firewall has been unboxed, configured, and deployed.

Properly securing your network requires that the settings of your firewall appliance reflect the needs, strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots in your network. Just as every small business operates in their own unique way, their firewall should be customized to fit those needs.

Firewalls.com recommends that small business owners take advantage of our Configuration Service, built on a proprietary 100-step configuration methodology that ensures your firewall is tailor-made to suit your network.

CHECK OUT OUR CONFIGURATION SERVICE OPTIONS

Managed Service

As mentioned earlier, small businesses may not always have a large budget set aside for hiring in-house sys admin. Luckily, there is no shortage of third parties available to do the legwork for you. Firewalls.com offers both Managed Services and Firewall-as-a-Service bundles. The gist of it: you plug your small business firewalls in and we handle it from there. If there’s a problem with your network, we alert you and fix it. Then, you go back to your workday. Next time someone asks you about your business’s network security, you can scoff and brag “Oh, I have people for that.”

CHECK OUT OUR MANAGED SERVICE OPTIONS

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Barracuda CloudGen Firewall – A Walk in the Clouds