I have used WatchGuard Network Security appliances for many years and have deployed them on several customer sites. They are easy to configure and rock solid in operation. I have never had an intrusion while using them. The subscription services allow me to tighten up security by limiting the geo locations of the traffic and the failover and VPN features are essential to our operation.
Pros
VPN
MultiWan Support
Traffic logging
Cons
Sometimes the documentation is a bit lacking
Documentation is only available online. I would l like pdf download for reference
Likelihood to Recommend
I use several appliances for network protection on customer sites that I have to secure and be able to connect to for support. WatchGuard Network Security makes this very easy to configure and affordable for a small business.
Watchguard keeps all of our offices free of intrusions and offers comprehensive coverage that meets our security needs. It also scales nicely depending on how much coverage we need, and they offer quality, reliable products that simply work. We've been nothing but pleased customers for over a decade.
Pros
Geoblocking
Blocking hacker's IP.
Network monitoring solutions.
SMTP policy.
Stable connections to other WatchGuard units.
Cons
UI
Usability
Documentation
Likelihood to Recommend
WatchGuard is a perfect solution for small to medium-level businesses, and I'm sure they have both hardware and software that scales to larger firms, too. They stay ahead of the curve with intrusions and botnet invasions and do a fine job of keeping our units updated and current with the latest virus definitions.
My organization uses Watchguard as our main firewall, edge protection, and network management solution. We have Firebox devices deployed at all our business locations, utilizing the branch office VPN features to secure network traffic routing. We also employ traffic analysis features to monitor network security. Watchguard is easily configurable, and the support is responsive.
Pros
Traffic analysis.
Branch Office VPN.
Network routing.
Cons
Sometimes, it is not very intuitive. You'll not know how to use certain features unless you read the documentation.
Some settings in the firebox are not visible unless you enter edit mode. This can cause inadvertent issues if you make a change when you just want to review the settings.
The use of blocks in the design of the Firewatch interface can be confusing. A better design could have been used.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is very suited for small to medium businesses as the price is affordable. The ability to modularly add options and subscriptions based on your budget or need makes the WatchGuard an excellent choice. Updates to the firmware are easy to perform, and I've never had a problem with an update. This makes it ideal in scenarios where you can schedule an update after hours and be sure it will work without having to set up sandbox or development environments.
I currently have WatchGuard devices deployed at all four of our locations, including WatchGuard wireless devices. We have multiple wireless, physical and VLAN networks configured that allow us to segregate traffic and provide internet services for employees' personal devices completely separate from our company-specific network. WatchGuard [Network Security] allows us to keep the networks and data secure with ease of administration.
Pros
Firewall rules are easy to create, manipulate and configure.
Filtering web traffic is easy to visualize and adjust as necessary.
The ability to instantly stop traffic based on device IP or MAC address has been very helpful.
The web blocker feature allows me to allow and or deny access to specific sites within seconds.
Cons
One of the few things that I would like to see changed is the config saving process for the devices.
I'd like to see support tickets addressed more quickly.
I really have no other complaints- it's a great product.
Likelihood to Recommend
The WatchGuard product line is so vast, there are devices and configurations that are applicable for every network from a small home office to enterprise-level networks. I have deployed small XTM devices to offices with 2 employees, and I have deployed large rack-mount devices to large multi-state companies- the interface is essentially the same across the board with makes management and administration a dream.
VU
Verified User
Professional in Information Technology (51-200 employees)
WatchGuard Firewalls Firebox -M470,370, T35 are being used as perimeter firewalls throughout the organization. We had to obtain higher throughput firewalls without increasing the budget for this line item. WatchGuard was able to provide competitive pricing. It also provided a mixture of multiple technologies bundled into the firebox enabling depth in defense.
Pros
Quick gateway packet inspection
SSL VPN connections
Good technical support
Cons
Build a better reseller environment, to provide customer competitive pricing, rather than locking to a single reseller.
Reporting could be improved.
Likelihood to Recommend
WatchGuard security would be suitable for all sorts of environments. It works well for site to site VPN, application whitelisting, IPS. However, if SD WAN or Numerous SSL VPN clients support is required, other competitive products may be considered.
VU
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology (501-1000 employees)
WatchGuard is in use across the whole organization which spans 6 different countries creating a wide area network using Branch Office VPNs. We use various security modules like Anti-spam, Web Filtering, IPS security, Botnet detection, etc. We have remote workers and the easy of use of VPNs let them execute their work without problem. Also, we have an external DataCenter and access it with BOVPNs, the connection was very easy to set up.
Pros
Use of web categories.
Easy rule creation.
Live logs.
Custom protocol definition.
Geolocation allow/block access.
Application control.
Cons
Quarantine server needs improvement, old design.
Dimension reports needs more filtering and selection options.
Dimension needs to show actual data, some reports lacks real data.
Policy Manager needs to improve its front-end.
Options in Policy Manager seem outdated.
Better integration with Active Directory, sometimes fails to authenticate users correctly.
Likelihood to Recommend
Well configured, is appropriate for most scenarios but needs improvement over mail management and anti-spam; also, needs improvement for web server publishing forwarding request to many internal web servers.
Currently, we deploy WatchGuard Network security devices in order to help secure both the external and internal perimeter of our customer's networks. The appliances offer many modern features such as Advanced Thread Protection (ATP), Spam / Antivirus, Website blocking / reporting and VPN services. The firewalls can also act as a wireless controller for the WatchGuard wireless access points. We have successfully deploy several of these with great success.
Pros
Website blocking works as well as any other option on the market.
ATP seems to identify a lot of threats that get past our spam filter or local Antivirus.
The spam and Antivirus services seems to identify a lot of threats that get past our spam filter or local Antivirus.
Considering the high cost of the wireless controller, having it come free with an application is a great value
The hardware is enterprise-class, rarely do we have hardware related issues.
The support is typically fast to respond and will not keep you for hours doing mundane troubleshooting.
Cons
Costly, the devices are rarely expensive, especially for the additional security bundles
There is no way to enforce password requirements for user accounts on the appliances.
the support is handled over sears, but this is not uncommon in the industry.
Likelihood to Recommend
If a customer needs to set up a wide area network, WatchGuard security appliances can help filter the traffic and more importantly enforce access lists. At a larger scale, WatchGuard provides management server software that can facilitate the managing of 100s-1000s of devices.
If a customer needs a good quality Internet firewall, I would always suggest WatchGuard. With their subscription model, the solution can be tailored to fit the specific needs of the customer.
