We use Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for protection in our network and IPsec. We also set up BGP for our customers.
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for AWS - PAYG
Barracuda NetworksExternal reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Strong security with effective traffic management and good support
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include antivirus protection, anti-DDoS, and IPS. We also find the bandwidth management and traffic shaping features effective for traffic optimization. The policy that allows for license renewal and hardware refresh every four years also offers cost efficiency for us.
What needs improvement?
The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be improved. The initial setup can also be complex because it involves navigating different menus instead of a linear setup process. Integration with AI would be helpful as modern attacks often utilize AI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for eight years. We are a partner of Barracuda.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When we use Barracuda, we have not experienced any attacks or security breaches.
How are customer service and support?
I am quite satisfied with Barracuda's technical support. However, the menu is not as user-friendly, though the overall security has been satisfactory, with no breaches.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with several firewalls before using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can be a bit complex because it involves different menus and sections. It is not straightforward like others, which use everything in one flow.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Customers seeking other options often consider solutions like FortiGate due to its reputation in Gartner Quadrant.
What other advice do I have?
Customers seeking products based on Gartner Quadrant leadership might not prefer Barracuda, as it is not positioned as a leader.
I would rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall at eight out of ten.
I recommend this firewall for small to medium businesses, however, larger enterprises might look for something with a higher brand reputation.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Ensures data security with advanced intrusion prevention and 24/7 monitoring
What is our primary use case?
Primarily, we cater to data center customers who locate their servers, applications, and data within one of our data centers. These customers use the firewall to secure their perimeter.
What is most valuable?
I find the intrusion prevention system to be valuable, along with the fact that it can now integrate with Barracuda's XDR. This integration helps secure our data and applications from attackers trying to gain access and detect malicious activity.
Additionally, the easy addition of XDR allows us to have 24/7 SOC monitoring. All of the information is located in the central management system, enabling customers to see performance and get reports. We can also access the system for policy updates, firmware updates, etc.
What needs improvement?
There could be improvements in licensing. Some licensing aspects are challenging; for example, if you're using an active-passive setup, you have to license both firewalls. Some competitors now offer a floating license between the two. They offer more streamlined license allocation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability as ten. We have very few issues with Barracuda Firewall, even in the case of zero-day vulnerabilities, which are fewer compared to competitors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The firewalls are very good and scalable. However, if you are moving into higher-end services, there may be some other products that are more viable.
When positioning into customers, some larger enterprise customers tend to move towards one of the top three: either Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto. For SME and SMB partners, the scalability of the solution is really good, however, enterprise customers may start seeing additional features in other larger players that they might be looking for.
How are customer service and support?
I rate the customer service as ten out of ten. Barracuda's partner support is better than the majority, and it stands out as one of their strengths. It covers solution design and is available to assist with the configuration of devices, onboarding, and support, offering enhancement and optimization for ongoing services.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm aware of Meraki. With Meraki, if you have two firewalls, you only need one license. However, with Barracuda, you need to license both firewalls, which makes them more expensive.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the initial setup as ten out of ten.
It is straightforward to set up a CloudGen file, taking a couple of hours. Once we have the configuration agreed with the customer, the setup and onboarding are completed within a few hours.
We receive the box from Barracuda or from our stores, pre-stage it into our network for initial configuration and Soak testing to ensure functionality. The customer can install it at their location, or we do it on their behalf.
We run the firewall in simulation mode to observe traffic and ensure service transition is effective. After confirming functionality with the customer, we transition to a live service.
What other advice do I have?
I would strongly encourage considering the full stack solution offered by Barracuda, including their XDR overlay service and wider secure edge service. These integrate closely with the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and offer a holistic security layer.
I rate the overall solution nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
My experience from solution
Bang for your buck!
Rock solid hardware appliance that has protected us very well
Very satisfied
It was 8 year one of the first with integration in Azure.
We have been working with the firewall for years
The observation mode made it easy to analyze the current data stream and plan initial optimizations and detect weak points and security gaps. This made it possible to build in parallel and switch directly. Afterwards, all deficiencies could be eliminated in small steps. Despite the many firmware updates with some architectural changes over the many years, the basic operation has not changed and updates were possible without support except once (an old configured network was not removed correctly). Changing the hardware was extremely easy, just import a backup of the old one, wire everything up and off we went. Otherwise, daily operations are very quiet and give me a lot of freedom for other tasks.
A tool that allows its users to manage big environments with fewer resources
What is most valuable?
One of the big benefits of the product is that it allows you to manage big environments with fewer resources. The product offers very good management.
What needs improvement?
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall should work a little bit more with the logs so that, in our company, we can generate a little bit more reports and get a bit more statistics, which would be fine for us. The firewall's functionalities are okay, including network and security. The tool should improve its reporting and security areas, which are the only areas of concern related to the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for twenty-two years. I use the solution's different model versions, including Barracuda CloudGen Firewall F12.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to deploy, configure, and update.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I would prefer users to opt for Palo Alto in enterprise-sized environments, like energy companies, health companies, or financial organizations. Compared to Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls, Palo Alto offers its users a little bit more security. Palo Alto's threat prevention, sandboxing functionalities, and web filtering features are good. I don't know the other vendors so well that I could talk about them.
What other advice do I have?
Though there are some issues with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, those working with it in our company are mostly satisfied with it.
I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.
A Comprehensive Solution for Secure and Agile Networking
A stable product that provides excellent encryption, security, and technical support
What is our primary use case?
The solution has a couple of use cases in VPN. We have branches connecting to the head office. We have users connecting to VPNs. We also use SSL VPN.
What is most valuable?
The encryption and the security standards are valuable.
What needs improvement?
We need high availability and load balancing. The product does not enable load balancing. We are looking for alternate solutions. We have multiple VPN channels with clients and sites. We need to ensure that the traffic is optimized so that the full bandwidth of the existing network is utilized. If the link goes down, the traffic must be routed without any downtime in the connection.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for the past six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability a nine out of ten. We haven't faced any issues with the stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. The features are a bit limited compared to other vendors. Scaling with limited options doesn’t make sense. Around 80 people are using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
We have contacted support for configuration or troubleshooting. We involve support in areas where the product lacks features. The support is quite good. I rate the support a nine and a half out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment from the solution. We will be using the device refresh feature next year. The devices will be upgraded free of charge.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is a bit cheaper than some solutions. It depends on the type of load.
What other advice do I have?
We are partners of the product. The solution must include as many features as possible. Each environment has different use cases. The features provided by the tool must be flexible enough to address our use cases and requirements. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.