1

Hi,

We are opening a small branch office, there will be maximum five users at the same time. So I’m thinking of using Watch Guard or SonicWall as firewall.

We have a Cisco ASA on the main office and we should have a VPN tunnel between this two offices.

So the models I’m looking at is,

Watchguard Firebox T10 With 3-yr Livesecurity

Sonicwall Sonicwall Soho Wireless-n

I have not used anyone of this brand before, so well, I need help to choose. =)

So any experiences or suggestions will be very appreciated.

Thanks.

Best Regards.

@Cisco

Watch Guard or SonicWall for a small branch office?
  • Watch Guard
  • SonicWall
0 voters
8 Spice ups
2

Having used both SonicWall and Watchguard I’d go with the Watchguard device. It’s easier to configure and manage.

6 Spice ups
3

I’ve setup a number of Sonicwalls (mainly TZ Series) and a Sonicwall would be a good choice. My experience with Watchguards is limited but those who use it are quite happy from what I know.

Have you considered ASA 5506-X?

1 Spice up
4

Watchguard, have been using them for years.

2 Spice ups
5

@bos I don’t really like Cisco, so thought I should try something else in the branch office. =)

6

I currently have and really like our Sonicwalls.

7

Quick story:

We do work with a county in Florida. When setting up the network and vpn etc.; the network guy there laughed at me for using watchguard products.

Well, We discussed the network setup and I had my config all ready to go on my watchguard and he had to call cisco support for help to get it configured. I then laughed at him.

4 Spice ups
8

I’m the opposite from Mike I’ve used both too and i prefer the SonicWALL devices i found them easier to configure and manage personally but with that said you can’t go wrong with either one.

1 Spice up
9

We didn’t want to spend that kind of money on such a small office with an infrequently used connection, so I just got a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. WatchGuards everywhere else.

1 Spice up
10

Thanks for all the answers, I also added a poll for the product. =)

Still can’t make up my mind yet… But think I should try Watch Guard.

How is their support?

11

In 10 years and literally hundreds of WG installs, I have only needed their support 4 times - once was a bricked device, once was a bug in a new firmware release, and 2 times were configuration problems back in the very beginning. They are very much like the GUI on the ASAs - once you learn where everything is, they are a piece of cake to setup and manage.

WG uses XML instead of IOS, so you just need the WSM software from now on.

2 Spice ups
12

Watchguard. I ripped out a ton of Sonicwall Tz firewalls at small offices and replaced them with Watchguards when they were due for replacement. No regrets.

Is there even a Sonicwall Rep in the Spiceworks community? Jackie from Watchguard is very active and responsive.

@jackie-for-watchguard

5 Spice ups
13

WatchGuard is much easier to manage in my opinion.

1 Spice up
14

Centralized management with Server manager. See all your remote offices at once.

2 Spice ups
15

WAtchGuard all the way. More features and less SonicWall “Voo-Doo”. Too many times I’ve replaced SonicWall with a Watchguard to the betterment of connectivity issues, and well issues in general.

1 Spice up
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I have used both a Watchguard and Sonicwall and for my remote offices i have leaned toward Sonicwall appliances. Both are fairly straightforward and easy to get connected and going. The difference make in most of my situations was the Home firewall which was Sonicwall as well. Keeping both from the same manufacturer made things real easy.

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Hi Marcus! Totally brightened my morning seeing all the WatchGuard love here. It seems like you are getting some pretty positive feedback on our appliances. And as Patrick noted, I am the CBR for WatchGuard here in the community, so if you have any questions or need to report issues, etc… I am a resource that can be utilized. Please don’t hesitate to reach out on our Vendor Page or send me a PM if you need anything!

2 Spice ups
18

Haven’t worked with Watchguard so can’t speak to that, but might want to check the SonicWall SOHO bandwidth specs to ensure it meets your requirements. If you use DPI SSL for example you only get 15mbps with it.

I usually recommend nothing smaller than the TZ 300 for modern office, although for just 5 users not using DPI SSL it’s probably fine.

19

Not used WatchGuard, but heard good things. I have thou used SonicWall and I’d happily recommend them, there easy to setup and manage. Use the below link and have a play around with the gui.

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WatchGuard, hands down!

HOWEVER, I highly recommend steering clear of the T10 models. They only have 512MB of memory and are inadequate (even with only ONE user), plus they are only 32-bit. Go with a T30 at minimum. Upgrade firmware to 11.12.2, then set PFS Ciphers to Allowed if you use HTTPS with Content Inspection.

Gregg

1 Spice up