At WatchGuard, we believe that good things can come in small packages. Our smallest tabletop appliances run the same operating system, or firmware, as the largest rack mount units. This means we can provide enterprise class security in a small form factor that helps protect small offices, retail stores, and remote branches of a distributed enterprise.
This is why we are very excited to introduce the next generation of our tabletop appliances today, the WatchGuard Firebox T30 and T50, which replaces our existing XTM 25/26 and XTM 33. With the Firebox T Series, companies of all sizes can benefit from our suite of sophisticated security technologies that have been developed to protect the most demanding enterprises. For example, with the WebBlocker service, every link is checked against the Threat Seeker cloud URL database from Websense. Using Intrusion Prevention Service (IPS), the Firebox looks for attacks against known vulnerabilities using technology from Trend Micro. Our newest subscription service, APT Blocker provides a defense against advanced malware. We check unknown files in a next generation sandbox in the cloud using full system emulation technology from Lastline.
You might think that these services would slow performance. In fact, the new T50 provides up to 165 Mbps of Unified Threat Management (UTM) performance[1] in a compact form factor with 7 Ethernet ports. The smaller T30 appliance has 5 ports and provides up to 135 Mbps UTM throughput. These powerful new boxes provide full security inspection of Internet traffic at the fast connection speeds available today.
The T30 and T50 don’t just provide faster throughput. New features support the growing needs for secure wireless access. Both models have options for an integrated 802.11ac wireless version – providing faster speeds over the less congested 5 GHz channel. Each model also includes a Power over Ethernet (PoE) port, which can be used to provide power to a WatchGuard Wireless Access Point. With PoE, small locations like retail shops don’t have to install expensive power runs to the ceiling for wireless access points. They can simply run an Ethernet cable from the Firebox to the mounting point. Of course the Firebox also comes with the integrated Gateway Wireless Controller software.
That’s a lot of sophisticated security technology in a small box. I’ve been running a Beta version of the T50 at home for a couple of months now. In today’s world, it’s reassuring to know that I have enterprise level security technology protecting my family and any work that I do for my company from home.
Find out more about the new T30 and T50 appliances at watchguard.com, here.
[1] Remember that UTM performance measures the throughput when the most demanding security services are enabled, including IPS and Gateway Antivirus. Not all vendors publish a combined performance number like this, but we believe that it is important to enable all security services and measure the combined throughput.
This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. However, I do wish they would have included at least two PoE ports. All my sites have an IP phone and AP.