Filtering Options

[commtech]

Hi Guys,

 

Currently using Lightspeed at a Primary School but have had nothing but issues with it since getting it all setup and installed, it seems the Rocket is killing our Download Speeds and making the connection really slow. Currently have a mix of Windows and iOS on it at the moment, SLT are planning on introducing Google Apps shortly and really don't want to put them on the Lightspeed after experiences with Windows and iOS.

 

I have had a search through the forumn for a consensus of what people are using, I am leaning toward Smoothwall, anyone got any reasons why i shouldn't or offer any alternatives please

[Blue_Cookeh]

SSL inspection is probably what's killing your bandwidth unfortunately - most appliances will have this problem.

 

I hated Smoothwall when we got a quote from them. It was 3x more expensive than everything else and their feature-set wasn't that brilliant. I like Sophos UTM/XG personally. Decent filtering, decent price, decent support.

[tom_newton]

Ssl inspection should not be a problem for performance...

[2ilent8cho]

SSL inspection normally puts a heavy load on the CPU, more connections more load.... Can you see the CPU usage of the Rocket?

[tom_newton]

Should be a fairly small amount of extra load. In fact the handshake is the most expensive part of most ssl connections.

[sparkeh]

Our last renewal for smoothwall was crazy expensive. We moved to Sophos UTM and have been very pleased with it so well worth a look.

[rogerdnixon]

If you are going G Suite, then you might want to take a look at Securly. We use it here (1150 1:1 Chromebooks, PCs, Macs) and it just works - no slowdowns. Been very impressed. Authentication is done against users G Suite account.

[TechMonkey]

SSL inspection is probably what's killing your bandwidth unfortunately - most appliances will have this problem.

 

I hated Smoothwall when we got a quote from them. It was 3x more expensive than everything else and their feature-set wasn't that brilliant. I like Sophos UTM/XG personally. Decent filtering, decent price, decent support.

 

We don't have any bottle necks with SSL inspection on Smoothwall. Can I ask what features Smoothwall are missing compared to the Sophos device? When we compared them it was the other way round so I am interested what Sophos has added?

Our Smoothwall contract is up in a year and a half so currently on the list to check out against Smoothwall is Fortinet, Palo Alto and possibly now Sophos. They are not so Education focused but look very interesting.

[Wave9_Lee]

Hi TechMonkey,

 

If you'd like a price or demo for Sophos, I would be happy to arrange this. Sophos are very education focused in our view.

 

regards

 

Lee

[commtech]

I would be interesting in seeing the cost and a demo of the Sophos Product also

[SEdwards]

Unsure if it'll help, but from a pricing POV I did a full price up of 4 filters around 3-4 months ago before I left my last place. I found that the cheapest over 3 years were as follows (And in order): Smoothwall, Sophos, Lightspeed and Censornet. The difference between Smoothwall (The cheapest) and Censornet was around £20k over 3 years which I found absolutely crazy.

[synaesthesia]

We've had confidence knocked in Smoothwall over the last few years, enough to write it off as a possibility. Very happy with the Sophos product we have in place now.

[tom_newton]

Be interested to hear what's knocked your confidence - we have certainly had our tribulations over the last few years, but we are coming back from them stronger

[synaesthesia]

Support issues which I believe are now resolved, when I've contacted you guys for one of my Smoothie primaries recently things have been good in that respect, and cost. I will admit to preferring the Sophos box as things stand; personal preference. The abilities appear much of a muchness.

[sparkeh]

Be interested to hear what's knocked your confidence - we have certainly had our tribulations over the last few years, but we are coming back from them stronger

 

I am in the same position and happy to give constructive feedback.

 

1) Support was great when we first got SW in. Issues were resolved quickly by knowledgable people. By the end we were tearing our hair out with support taking so long to get back to us and resolving problems.

 

2) Renewal cost was crazy and the quote was indecipherable with all the vaguely name licence and support lines. Sophos was a lot cheaper for the same functionality and a lot clearer in explaining what you were paying and for what. Irritatingly when I informed our SW account manager we were leaving we were offered a much better deal!

 

3) We were constantly promised UI improvements that never really happened. The Sophos UI is so much easier to use and achieve what’s you want quickly.

Edited March 27, 2018 by sparkeh