How does pfsense compare do commercial firewall?
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Sorry to posting this, and I know it's pfsense's forums opinions maybe biased, but I have been searching a comparison and got no results…
first we love pfsense, we wanted to buy http://hacom.net/catalog/mars-iii-pfsense-1u-server but it's in USA and it's difficult for us to get it. so someone is selling me a Fortinet's fortigate 200b at twice price(comparing with Hacom's appliance with my setup after Tax, shipping etc, like 2500 usd vs 5000 usd).
I don't know if there is a huge difference in software/hardware between them that make us worth to pay 2500usd more. if fortigate is really better we can afford for it no problem
thanks for the advice.
company info:
200 users.
no vpn -
It very much depends on what your actual needs are (both today and in the near future). What type of Internet connection(s) do you have ? Do you have servers (web/mail/voip) ? What type of traffic do those 200 users generate ?
pfSense can do a fine job as a packet filter (firewall), NAT gateway, and VPN concentrator (both site-to-site and for "road warriors" accessing the office remotely). It also supports multi-WAN and offers advanced features, such as a high-availability (redundant pair configuration).
pfSense can also be configured to do web-filtering and IDS/IPS via 3rd party packages. Although this functionality has improved significantly in recent months, it still isn't as tightly integrated to the base system, nor does it create pretty-looking reports, as some of the alternatives.
So, depending on your actual needs, pfsense might be able to offer more functionality at lower cost.
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http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Comparison_to_Commercial_Alternatives
I generally build to order for my customers when needed. If your looking for a turnkey solution your choices may be limited depending on where you live/work.
Id imagine that any reputable computer shop in your area should be able to build what you need. Where do you buy your desktops or laptops?
Just some thoughts. :)
