Small business Firewall

wijcc · 12 Jun 2018 at 12:29

Can anyone recommend a good robust firewall box for a small business, max 5 - 10 users and allows for reliable vpn pass through? Wanting a separate firewall that connects onto incoming router/modem.
Thanks in advance guys.

pepp77 · 12 Jun 2018 at 12:33

Budget?

bremen1874 · 12 Jun 2018 at 12:35

And what's the 'incoming router/modem' it needs to connect to?

wijcc · 12 Jun 2018 at 13:06

Budget ideally less than £250-200.
BT fibre for the time being, but that maybe to xDSL. Hence wanting a separate hardwarqe firewall to connect whatever modem/router via rj45/network cable

Steve_bullockuk · 12 Jun 2018 at 13:09

I'd try and stretch that budget out and get a Netgate SG-3100. It runs pfSense and does exactly what you want it to do plus so much more.

wijcc · 12 Jun 2018 at 13:09

can up the budget if can be justified

bremen1874 · 12 Jun 2018 at 13:10

Unless you plan this correctly you're asking for a double NAT situation.

wijcc · 12 Jun 2018 at 13:50

i have used watchguard and draytek firewalls previously without any problems.. but these boxes are old and now longer available

Steveocee · 12 Jun 2018 at 14:08

Why is there a need for an individual firewall these days? Surely an AIO unit like the Netgate or something like a Mikrotik CCR1009 could handle everything you needed without an array of devices?

pcfarrar · 12 Jun 2018 at 14:10

wijcc said:
i have used watchguard and draytek firewalls previously without any problems.. but these boxes are old and now longer available

You can get a Watchguard T15 with 1 year basic security for around £240.

neil_g · 12 Jun 2018 at 21:30

Caged · 13 Jun 2018 at 00:06

The BT Business Hub can operate in modem mode, or you can set it up with a routed IP block, so no need to go and get a separate modem.

A FortiGate 50E should meet your budget, depending on the discount you can get.

WJA96 · 13 Jun 2018 at 13:59

Caged said:
The BT Business Hub can operate in modem mode, or you can set it up with a routed IP block, so no need to go and get a separate modem.

A FortiGate 50E should meet your budget, depending on the discount you can get.

But doesn’t FortiGate have massive annual licence fees?

Caged · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:01

Depends what features you want. I'm not sure how realistic it is to get a business firewall without any ongoing costs for support etc.

Sparky__H · 13 Jun 2018 at 18:39

WJA96 said:
But doesn’t FortiGate have massive annual licence fees?

If you just want the basic functionality (no ngfw features) you can pick up a 60e for £400. If you want any form of logging you'll want to get a 61E or set up a log server of some type.

you could get a 3rd party to scope and configure then decide on on going support needs.

I'm running a 60e pumping logs to a Gray log vm at home.

wijcc · 14 Jun 2018 at 14:58

I was looking at the watchguard T15, i have a quick question I have found two versions of this for different prices, from description they seem the same but the pricing is very different, they have different model numbers which are:
WGT15997-WW (WatchGuard Firebox T15 MSSP (WW)) and WGT15001-WW (WatchGuard firebox T15 with 1-yr Standard Support (WW))

Anyone know what the difference is between them, is it just the lack of support?

pcfarrar · 14 Jun 2018 at 15:26

wijcc said:
Anyone know what the difference is between them, is it just the lack of support?

Always buy the trade up models. You can just use any old junk router as the trade in. Watchguard don't care what you trade, I've done it countless times now.

You want the 1 year basic security or 1 year total security. The 1 year standard support is rubbish as it doesn't give you anything apart from firmware updates.

The trade up T15 with 1 year basic security is this part number WGT15061-WW. Currently £204+VAT at the re-seller we use.

WJA96 · 14 Jun 2018 at 17:20

pcfarrar said:
Always buy the trade up models. You can just use any old junk router as the trade in. Watchguard don't care what you trade, I've done it countless times now.

You want the 1 year basic security or 1 year total security. The 1 year standard support is rubbish as it doesn't give you anything apart from firmware updates.

The trade up T15 with 1 year basic security is this part number WGT15061-WW. Currently £204+VAT at the re-seller we use.

That's VERY useful to know. Thanks.

Liquidfox · 15 Jun 2018 at 21:27

wijcc said:
i have used watchguard and draytek firewalls previously without any problems.. but these boxes are old and now longer available

There's not much that's changed in the newer Drayteks. They've added some extra features but the bare bones is the same. They do the job quite well.

wijcc · 18 Jun 2018 at 22:59

Thanks guys.. the main router/modem is a BT business smart hub, is the firewall that is any on this any good?
Or would getting an additional watchguard/draytek offer better security?

Small business Firewall

Sparky__H

Sparky__H