A firewall is more than just a box you put on a desk or in a rack in the back room, it’s an appliance you count on to secure your network. But it’s often hard to distinguish between which of those appliances offers the best solution for your specific needs. Enter Sophos XG Firewall. This model line has options for networks of many shapes and sizes (even including virtual and software firewalls). Sophos XG Firewall features superior visibility, protection, and response to stop malware in its tracks. This series is also noted for its ease of deployment and management for even those who may be a little less tech savvy. In honor of the X in Sophos XG, we decided to put together X (or 10 when in Rome) Sophos XG Firewall features in video form.
More on XG Firewall features
If the video whet your appetite, but you still want to learn more about the Sophos XG firewall, we can help! Check out our feature review videos of the XG 125 and the new XG 86 & XG 106. We’ve also written about Sophos’ two security services bundles, EnterpriseProtect and TotalProtect. And last, but certainly not least, if you like learning about Sophos XG Firewall features in audio form, listen to episode 3 of Ping: A Firewalls.com Podcast in which we talk to Sophos’ Chris McCormack to take an even deeper dive into the XG firewall series.
If you’re looking into deploying a Sophos XG Firewall on your business network, it can be a challenge to discern the precise differences between various bundles, services, and licenses. What exactly is included in a Sophos TotalProtect or TotalProtect Plus bundle? How does it differ from FullGuard or EnterpriseProtect? While we took an in-depth look at Sophos EnterpriseProtect & EnterpriseProtect Plus suites in past posts, we’re back to peek again into the Sophos arsenal. This post will layout exactly which services are included in TotalProtect & TotalProtect Plus bundles for XG Firewall, showcasing the most comprehensive security solutions Sophos offers as part of its Synchronized Security suite.
XG Firewall Base Appliance
We talked extensively about the capabilities of Sophos XG Firewalls in our most recent podcast with Chris McCormack, (Sophos Senior Product Marketing Manager). XG Firewalls range in size from 1-10 user setups to 1000+ user environments, bringing advanced scanning and security capabilities to SMBs and enterprises alike. TotalProtect and TotalProtect Plus bundles include both a physical XG Firewall appliance–like the recently launched XG 86 & XG 106 firewalls–and the full suite of security services. FullGuard and FullGuard Plus consist of the attached security services, but do not include an appliance.
Network Protection
Sophos Network Protection licenses tie in the Sophos Intrusion Prevention Service, Advanced Threat Protection, and the Sophos Security Heartbeat, providing your network with robust perimeter defenses designed to keep zero-days at bay.
Email Protection
Sophos Email Protection scans inbound and outbound inbox traffic and fully supports SMTP, POP3, & IMAP protocols. Spam greylisting and a robust reputation service keep your inboxes free of unwanted junk while real-time security lookups in the cloud test message contents against the latest email threat intelligence. With plenty of automated file-type detection, phishing detection, and malware detection engines running simultaneously, the threat of Business Email Compromise is minimized. Additionally, pre-packaged Content Control Lists make for convenient one-click compliance for PII, PCI, HIPAA, and many other regulatory requirements.
Web Protection
With a majority of Internet traffic now encrypted, managing inbound and outbound web traffic is crucial to keeping threats off your internal network while protecting and prioritizing your limited bandwidth resources. Sophos Web Protection provides real-time visibility and control, enhanced web filtering, huge databases of pre-built URL blacklist, Smart Filters, and continuous threat intelligence updates from SophosLabs.
Web Server Protection
Sophos Web Server Protection guards your externally-facing servers and applications, shoring up one of your most publicly-exposed attack surfaces. If you host your own website, Web Server Protection offers a reverse proxy and web application firewall, along with SSL offloading and authentication services, to prevent data loss. This is a super easy way to harden your servers against attack while improving server performance.
Enhanced Support
Sophos Enhanced Support provides a warranty and replacement option for your firewall should it experience a malfunction. Your network is also backed by 24×7 Sophos support via phone, email, or a web portal ticket system. When new firmware updates become available, Enhanced Support ensures your XG Firewall is updated in a timely manner – a security must.
Why Bundle Sophos Services?
Some administrators may think that it saves time, money, or labor hours if they purchase individual security licenses “a la carte” as needed, but in most cases this is incorrect. Manufacturers bundle comprehensive service suites not because they hope to sell more services, but because these bundles have been holistically designed to integrate with one another and provide far greater visibility, control, and ease-of-use when working in tandem than when working individually. In the case of Sophos TotalProtect & TotalProtect Plus bundles, the whole is even better than the sum of its parts. When your system is composed of like-minded team players, it enables real-time communication between network layers. This means your security infrastructure is covered from multiple angles and is more responsive in the case of a breach.
