The best firewall is ....

Juniper Networks ISG1000

Contents
Introduction
 Cyberguard SG710
 Fortinet FortiGate 200A
 Juniper ISG1000
 Lucent Brick 150
 Netgear FVX538
 Network Box RM-300
 SonicWALL PRO 5060c
 Symantec SGS 5420
 WatchGuard X1000
 Specifications
 How we tested
 Editor's choice
 About RMIT

The heavy hitter in this review is Juniper's ISG1000 and by no means is this the largest firewall that Juniper carries.

It is hard to really criticise this device -- there is little that it is not capable of. In most Australian corporate networks it would be hard to find the ISG1000 causing any bottlenecks. Just check the features table for the list of what it can do.

The ISG1000 is a 3RU device. The rear has an easily removable power supply unit, with a IEC power socket and power switch. Both sides of the unit have large ventilation grills. There are three full-height fans vertically mounted in a removable tray. On the front of the device are nine status LEDs, a compact flash slot, console, and modem ports.

There is one dedicated management Ethernet port along with four configurable Ethernet ports. Above these there are two modular-slots, the firewall we were offered for the review had an eight-port copper Ethernet module in bay two, as well as a two-port fibre module installed in bay one. Naturally, the modular design means that users can purchase and install a wide array of modules to suit their specific needs and infrastructure. With the size of the fans the unit is relatively loud when running, but this is not a device designed to sit in the corner on top of the server, so keep some room available in the data centre racks.

The policy control for the monitoring and reporting systems is almost as comprehensive as the device's other capabilities.

Overall, the ISG1000 is clearly designed for the large enterprises or even carrier/ISP market. If you are in the market for a large-scale firewall then look no further than the ISG1000. If the 1000 is outside the budget for your requirements then look at some of the other firewalls further down on the Juniper tree, pardon the pun.

Product ISG1000
Price AU$33,000
Vendor Juniper Networks
Phone 02 8913 9800
Web www.juniper.net
 
Interoperability ½
Good range of features and management options.
Futureproofing
Modular design and applications allow for excellent scalability.
ROI
Price is very good considering scale and performance.
Service
12 months appears to be average for these devices.
Rating ½
Juniper ISG1000

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Talkback 26 comments

    Checkpoint Anonymous -- 09/08/05

    How can you test all firewalls and leave the marketleader out ? All these are toys ! :)checkpoint rules

    Hardware firewalls Craig Ringer -- 10/08/05

    This review appears limited to dedicated hardware firewalls.

    That's not the extent of the offerings available. In particular, *BSD and Linux have very useful built-in firewalls that can be used to protect a network. You spend more time setting it up, but get more control and pay less for the hardware.

    There are NO such things as Hardware Firewalls Craig S Wright -- 05/09/05 (in reply to #120120028)

    There are NO such things as Hardware Firewalls

    Just pre-packaged boxes. Even the PIX is just an Intel based host with an OS

    Rubbish... Anonymous -- 15/10/05 (in reply to #120120706)

    The Juniper range contain dedicated purpose built chips.

    Hardware Firewalls Donovan Marsden -- 21/05/07 (in reply to #120120706)

    There are such things as hardware firewalls This prepackaged boxes contain firmware (hardware) not software so hardware firewalls refers to media. Not to mention that all it's electronics are dedicated to the firewall job!

    Mr. Craig Wright.... U. R. Stupid -- 14/08/09 (in reply to #120120706)

    .....equates to an idiot!

    ISA Firewall? Anonymous -- 15/08/05

    Excuse me, but where was the ISA firewall in your test? Was there a reason for leaving the ISA firewall out?

    ISA Firewall? Anonymous -- 15/08/05

    Excuse me, but where was the ISA firewall in your test? Was there a reason for leaving the ISA firewall out?

    Talk is only about Hardware firewall. Vijay -- 18/05/07 (in reply to #120120153)

    here the talk is only about the hardware firewall not about the software firewall...

    ISA 2000 till 2006 plays good role in application layer firewalls, when u talk about the hardware level, packet filtering and ip spoofing etc we need to go for hardware based firewall...

    ISA Appliances Gladys I. Rodriguez -- 03/08/07 (in reply to #320079571)

    I think everyone forgets that ISA is also is also sold as an appliance: http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/howtobuy/hardwaresolutions.mspx, because people say well in runs on top of Windows OS. But Cisco runs on top of their IOS, Juniper has DX OS, WatchGuard has Firebox X, etc. Microsoft just provides the extra control for what type of box the users choose to run their Firewall.

    Why didn't you guys include th ...Anonymous -- 22/08/05

    Why didn't you guys include the Check Point offering in your comparison of Firewall products? They have a very good end to end security offering and they play very hard in the enterprise space (and have also brought the same technology down to the mid tier and SMB products as well)

    Astaro Firewall not listed?! Anonymous -- 29/08/05

    I can't believe you would do a round up with out including Astaro Firewalls in the mix. They are by far the most powerful and flexible for business.

    www.astaro.com

    Cisco Anonymous -- 29/08/05

    WHAT ABOUT CISCO'S PIX???

    No Kickbacks from the Big Guns! Anonymous -- 08/09/05

    noice, no checkpoint, pix nor isa. What creditability does this mag have?

    Software firewall packages Anonymous -- 25/11/05

    would have been nice to see products like smoothwall, included.

    Checkpoint Anonymous -- 09/07/07

    I'm glad some of you are getting Checkpoint to work. I can't get onto the net, firmware upgrades have now prevented me from talking to the firewall. I using a $10 hub, seems to work better. Asking for an RMA right now.

    Sonic What, Watchguard!?!?! Anonymous -- 04/09/07

    Can't believe watchguard was even mentioned this cannot even be compared to the likes of Juniper ISG, Checkpoint and ASA/PIX in a corporate environment.

    AS
    Sell my house
    www.cheshiremoves.com

    Symantec Anonymous -- 11/10/07

    Has anyone ever tried to contact Symantec about the Symantec SGS 5420?

    I've tried many times and no one there knows anything about it - they just transfer me to some guy in an Indian call centre trying to sell me antivirus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    anyone got a real number to call?

    Cheers

    Justin

    Symantec support Anonymous -- 18/02/08 (in reply to #320087646)

    Dont waste your time, they are dropping firewall support in 2009.

    Symantec SGS - What to do with old box? Anonymous -- 27/09/08 (in reply to #320087646)

    We have SGS v3.x appliance which will be retired next year. Is it possible to install some thing like 'Astaro' into the box since Symantec only believes in 'end-point' security?

    no Cisco? Anonymous -- 29/05/08

    there are probably more Cisco firewalls installed in the world than all other brands combined. Not to say Cisco firewalls are the best, but to ignore the biggest player?
    btw, I have ASA 5505 at home, loving it.

    Cisco ASA 5505 Anonymous -- 25/06/08

    Most of us can't afford a $600+ firewall at home.

    Cisco are behind... A. NetworkAdmin -- 09/05/09 (in reply to #320104946)

    Cisco waited too long to re-code their IOS to support deep packet inspection (all 7 layers) and left other players take the lead in the market. This doesn't mean you should get rid of your faithfull PIX, but if a PIX was to break (which is not often), I would shop for another brand. If the criterias of the survey is that they must have DPI, then Cisco is behind in the race.

    Good Firewall, {The Best} Pat Cormier -- 12/10/08

    Why don't someone mention [Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall} I've been using it for years, and I find it better than any of the rest.

    Checkpoint - Market Leader Anonymous -- 21/03/09

    I ditto the comments already made. I have worked with no less than ten firewall vendors over the past 15 years for financial and ecommerce firms - yet there was no mention or testing with certain market leading products?

    Checkpoint is the worldwide market leader for enterprise firewalls. They weren't even mentioned? They make both appliance as well as software (for several platforms) so they could have been included in several categories. Cisco PIX was also not mentioned (though while inexpensive is inferior to Juniper and Checkpoint products).

    ISA is not as full-featured as many but since its software only I can see why they didnt test it. Simply put - you will rarely see any of the firewalls they did mention protecting significant assets, for too many reasons to include here.

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