The GateProtect GPZ 2500 is a highly flexible, highly configurable full-function UTM appliance. This product includes firewalls, bridging, VLAN, single sign-on, traffic shaping, QoS, IPsec/SSL, IDS/IPS, web filters, virus filters, real-time spam detection and HTTPS proxy all in one appliance.
The unfortunate part of this product is that all this functionality comes with a consequence: It is quite difficult to configure. The initial setup of the appliance is quite straightforward and consists of connecting it to the network and then installing the administration client on a network machine. The administration client will locate the device and then configuration can begin. The administration client itself is well organized, but it is overwhelming to decide what to do with it. There is a short configuration that can be run, but we found even after that there is still a lot of advance configuration that needs to be completed.
With that said, this appliance is highly flexible and can be configured to fit into even the most complex environments. The interface features a full network map of the various connections and applying rules and policy is as simple as selecting where the policy needs to be applied and assigning it there. We found that once the initial configuration is complete, this appliance becomes a bit easier to use.
Documentation included an administrator guide that covered everything from installation to configuration. This guide features many screen shots, step-by-step instructions and configuration example in a well organized format.
GateProtect offers a vast array of support options available via support contracts. Some options include various phone and email support hours and response times, as well as updates and subscription support. There is also an online portal available on the website, which includes a knowledge base and other product resources.
At a price just under $11,000, plus an additional $7,000 to load it up, this product is quite pricey. However, we do find it to be a good value for the money for large complex environments that may need some extra power and flexibility.
