The ZyWALL USG50 from ZyXEL offers a lot of solid UTM functionality in a small device. This little appliance includes a firewall, intrusion prevention system, web content filtering using Blue Coat, anti-virus engines from both ZyXEL and Kaspersky Lab, and application control to regulate and control use of instant messengers and peer-to-peer applications.
We found this product to be quite easy to set up and configure. The initial setup of the appliance is guided by a short wizard, which helps set up the appliance interfaces and network configuration. After the completion of the wizard, all further management and configuration is done through the web-based interface. We found this to be a little confusing at first, but we quickly became familiar with the layout and had very little trouble navigating around the interface after a few minutes.
One thing we really liked about the interface was the fully customizable dashboard. The dashboard allows for the addition of several different widgets - such as visuals on the top five intrusions or viruses. This customizable dashboard provides an excellent way to get a quick look at many pieces of system and network information without having to create reports or search around various monitoring screens.
Documentation included with the tool was comprised of quick-start and full user guides. The quick-start guide provided a few short steps that made it easy to connect the appliance to the network and access the setup wizard.
ZyXEL offers no-cost, eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week phone and email technical support for customers. Also available is a large online support area and library with knowledge base, many documents and downloads and product documentation.
At a price of just $630 - including one-year licenses for intrusion detection and prevention, anti-virus and content filtering services - this product is an excellent value for the money for smaller environments looking for an affordable UTM with some good features.
We found this product to be quite easy to set up and configure. The initial setup of the appliance is guided by a short wizard, which helps set up the appliance interfaces and network configuration. After the completion of the wizard, all further management and configuration is done through the web-based interface. We found this to be a little confusing at first, but we quickly became familiar with the layout and had very little trouble navigating around the interface after a few minutes.
One thing we really liked about the interface was the fully customizable dashboard. The dashboard allows for the addition of several different widgets - such as visuals on the top five intrusions or viruses. This customizable dashboard provides an excellent way to get a quick look at many pieces of system and network information without having to create reports or search around various monitoring screens.
Documentation included with the tool was comprised of quick-start and full user guides. The quick-start guide provided a few short steps that made it easy to connect the appliance to the network and access the setup wizard.
ZyXEL offers no-cost, eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week phone and email technical support for customers. Also available is a large online support area and library with knowledge base, many documents and downloads and product documentation.
At a price of just $630 - including one-year licenses for intrusion detection and prevention, anti-virus and content filtering services - this product is an excellent value for the money for smaller environments looking for an affordable UTM with some good features.
