Firewall guides
Short, practical explanations of the decisions that matter when you buy and run a firewall.
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- Guide
How to choose a firewall
Choosing a firewall comes down to five decisions. Get the first two right and the rest are easy.
- Guide
Firewall throughput explained
A firewall datasheet lists five or six throughput figures, and the biggest is the least useful. Here is what each one measures.
- Guide
UTM vs NGFW
UTM and NGFW began as two different ideas. Today the products have merged, and the terms tell you more about a vendor's marketing than about what the box does.
- Guide
Fortinet vs Sophos vs Palo Alto vs SonicWall
All five make firewalls that protect a business well when they are configured properly and kept up to date. They differ in where they put their effort.
- Guide
Firewall licences explained
A firewall is bought in two parts: the hardware, once, and a subscription that keeps its protection current. The subscription is where most of the cost over five years sits, so it is worth understanding.
- Guide
Site-to-site vs remote-access VPN
A business VPN does one of two jobs: it joins two networks together, or it brings one person into a network. Most businesses with more than one office and some remote staff need both.