Hillstone CloudEdge Virtual-Firewall (PAYG)

We deploy Hillstone CloudEdge Virtual-Firewall in AWS to protect workloads hosted inside our VPC. We use it to inspect north-south traffic, enforce access-control policies, secure communication between environments, and protect internet-facing applications and servers. Our main requirements include firewall policy enforcement, VPN connectivity, intrusion prevention, application control, and improved visibility into network traffic. The Hillstone model is suitable for our cloud environment because it gives us flexibility.

CloudEdge has helped us apply consistent security controls to our AWS workloads with our on-premises workloads. It provides an additional security layer beyond basic security groups and network ACLs. This allows us to inspect traffic more closely and enforce more detailed policies.

The most valuable aspect is the combination of traditional firewall functionality with cloud deployment flexibility. Important features include granular access control, IPsec and SSL VPN, intrusion prevention, antivirus, application control, traffic monitoring, and attack protection. The interface is relatively straightforward for administrators who already have firewall experience. The firewall integrates well into an AWS VPC architecture and provides useful control over traffic entering and leaving protected networks. The CloudEdge uses the same StoneOS platform as Hillstone's physical security appliances. This helps maintain a consistent configuration and management experience across physical and virtual environments.

Additional automation resources for AWS would also be helpful. More comprehensive CloudFormation or Terraform examples, deployment templates, and guidance for high-availability architectures could make larger implementations easier.

I have used the solution for three years.