If you’re looking to upgrade from your old Sophos firewall, comparing Sophos XG 550 vs XGS 5500 can offer a lot of clarity in your decision-making. There’s no argument that both have viable use cases, but there’s a reason the XG 550 has been discontinued.
Upgrades are normal when it comes to cyber security services, but you don’t want to walk into new hardware blindly. It’s highly important to understand what makes them different and when it might be time to look at something newer and better.
The upsides to both Sophos firewalls will vary quite a bit, and a lot of that is found in the technical details of their functionality. In this article, you’ll get a brief look at Sophos XG 550 vs XGS 5500 so you have a better idea of what’s best for your operation.
Comparing Sophos XG 550 vs XGS 5500
The short version is that the Sophos XGS 5500 is a bit more powerful than its predecessor. Of course, it gets a bit more specific than that, as it isn’t hard to see several differences in surface-level information.
Although the Sophos XG firewall 550 is built to support larger organizations, it still falls in the realm of growing and scaling. When it comes to the XGS 5500, this NGFW offers support for established enterprise businesses of 2,500 users or more.
At the end of the day, what really matters here is what the specs look like between both Sophos firewalls. You don’t have to dig too deep to find enough information to help guide your plan on network security for your business.
What is the Sophos XG 550?
Even if this Sophos XG firewall has been discontinued, that doesn’t mean it still isn’t made for modern demands in cyber security. It’s definitely an all-in-one solution, and its specs would still outpace many other models being sold on the market today.
Here are the specs that helped the XG 550 stand out:
- 75,000 Mbps firewall throughput
- 8,500 Mbps VPN throughput
- 17,000 Mbps IPS throughput
- 15,740,000 concurrent connections
- 213,800 new connections per second
Some of you might be thinking this is more than enough, and you wouldn’t be wrong. However, it’s important to consider why the Sophos XGS 5500 exists, as it comes with a few upgrades.
What is the Sophos XGS 5500?
No doubt, a step in the right direction, the Sophos XGS 5500 delivers comprehensive cyber security services. This includes support for over 2,500 users and enhanced integrated networking and VPN capabilities. Above all, a big part of what sets the Sophos XGS 5500 apart from the XG 550 is the inclusion of Xstream protection. This guarantees advanced security features such as deep packet inspection (DPI) and machine learning-based zero-day protection.
Here’s why you should consider the Sophos XGS 5500 for your business:
- 100,000 Mbps firewall throughput
- 13,500 VPN throughput
- 40,000 Mbps IPS throughput
- 32,400,000 concurrent connections
- 468,000 new connections per second
It’s pretty robust, to say the least, and it should make it an easy answer for larger enterprises that still have growth on the horizon. While the XG 550 is still in use by many companies at this time, its end of life is coming up right around the corner in 2025.
Sophos XG 550 vs XGS 5500 Next Generation Firewalls
There are a few other side-by-side comparisons that can help paint a bigger picture. Although both Sophos firewalls are viable in today’s world of network security, the XGS 5500 just takes capability one step further from many angles. In the table below, you can get a clearer look at some of the other core differences between the XG 550 and XGS 5500.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade or find your very first firewall solution for your business, Sophos can get the job done. Once again, the XG 550 can be found being actively used at this time, but that won’t be the case for much longer when 2025 comes around.
Let's Wrap Up
Now that you have a better understanding of the cyber security service these firewalls can offer, it should be more apparent which is the best choice. The Sophos XGS 5500 reins supreme in this comparison for more than one reason, as it’s simply a more scalable solution.
Add on the enhanced protection from Xstream SSL/TLS inspection, and you won’t have much to worry about regarding network security.