Although its a tiny package, barely the size of a sandwich, CyberGuards SnapGear SME575 VPN/firewall/IDS turned in an impressive performance during my tests at eWEEK Labs.
I used the SME575, which started shipping last month at an affordable $949, to protect a segment of my test network that was directly connected to the Internet.
I got the Linux-based SME575 up and running in about 30 minutes, and from the start the device was fully configured to allow remote IPSec VPN access.
The SME575 is well worth considering for use in remote offices—with one exception. Although I could use the central management system to remotely update the flash memory on the system, many other configuration changes had to be done manually.
Manual configuration changes aside, the SME575 compares favorably with competing offerings such as WatchGuard Technologies SOHO or low-end Firebox products and SonicWalls Tele firewall appliances.
CyberGuard, which recently completed its acquisition of SnapGear, has packed the SME575 device with open-source intrusion detection and analysis software, along with support for remote users and point-to-point VPN support.
I had no trouble getting the SME575 to provide secure access to my test network.
For additional information about the SME575, go to www.cyberguard.com.