March Firewall Madness

Spring is near and March Madness is here. March Firewall Madness that is! While much of the country gets swept up in college basketball fever this month , we can’t help but get excited about our own version of bracketology – matching up firewall brands.

MARCH FIREWALL MADNESS BRACKETOLOGY METHODOLOGY

Our selection committee pored over data, notes, records, reputations, and more to put together an eight-firewall bracket featuring a diverse pool of network security players. Our participating manufacturers are Cisco, Versa Networks, Palo Alto, Check Point, Forcepoint, Juniper Networks, Fortinet, and Huawei.

To determine the winners of these matchups, we’ve developed an extensive scoring system based on major third-party test results, customer satisfaction surveys, and key industry accolades. Let’s break down the score cards!

Gartner Firewalls SMB Magic Quadrant

For those in the network security “know,” Gartner is a familiar name. Their annual Magic Quadrant benchmarking provides neutral third-party tests to measure the efficiency, value, and reliability of products across a number of IT solution categories. The SMB Magic Quadrant pits a roster of small business-friendly firewall manufacturers against one another to determine both the clarity of their vision for the future and their ability to execute on those plans. In our bracket methodology, we place higher emphasis on “Ability to Execute.” We rank our competitors from highest to lowest based on their position in the Magic Quadrant (up and to the right is good!) with the #1 slot earning 20 points, #2 earning 18, #3 earning 16, and so on down the line.

Gartner Firewalls Enterprise Magic Quadrant

Gartner’s Enterprise Firewalls Magic Quadrant is similar to the tests and conclusions as described in the SMB Magic Quadrant, but this category focuses on manufacturers’ ability to innovate high-performance firewall solutions for large enterprises. With big, complex networks to guard, enterprise firewalls need to bring their A-game to this contest. Scoring mirrors that used for the SMB Magic Quadrant, with #1 earning 20 points and each subsequent runner-up netting 2 points fewer than those above.

NSS Labs 2018 NGFW Total Cost of Ownership

NSS Labs is another major tester of cybersecurity products and services. Each year, they release comparative reports that break down important metrics for the latest and greatest Next Generation Firewalls. These tests rely on real-world data. NSS puts each piece of hardware through the gauntlet, dispelling the marketing mythos and cutting right through to results. Similar to the scoring utilized above, the most cost-effective firewall appliance, as determined by the NSS Labs 2018 Total Cost of Ownership testing, will receive 20 points with each place after earning two points less.

NSS Labs 2018 NGFW Security Effectiveness

NSS tests Security Effectiveness as one of its three major benchmarking categories. This is accomplished by blasting simulated traffic through each firewall and barraging them with a slew of advanced threats and nasty bugs to see what threats are blocked and which threats were able to evade security. This testing also measures the reliability of the devices to withstand prolonged attacks, heavy traffic density, and complex exploits. If you haven’t guessed by now, the manufacturers sporting the most secure firewall will net 20 points in this round, with runners-up earning 2 fewer.

NSS Labs 2018 NGFW Firewall Throughput (Performance)

We’ve covered cost and security effectiveness, so you know we have to include performance speeds! NSS Labs measures real-world throughput speeds, latency, and more to determine which firewalls will keep your data hustling across the network and which devices are a bit more… sluggish. This was an important category. If a manufacturer was not represented in this speed test, we pulled firewall throughput data on one of their comparably-sized firewalls to stand in for results. 20 points goes to the winner, 18 points to runner up, 16 to third place, and so on.

CRN’s 20 Coolest Security Vendors of 2018

Everyone wants that “X factor” and CRN’s annual list of the coolest security vendors has that aspect covered. Whether it be a unique vision, creative innovations, or radical approach, earning your place on CRN’s top 20 list puts you in the who’s-who of network security manufacturers. There are no rankings here and points are assigned by a simple “yes” or “no.” Were you a rad enough dude to end up in CRN’s 20 Coolest? Then you just earned 10 bracket points.

IT Central Station’s 2019 Top Firewalls Solutions

IT Central Station compiles sprawling lists of user reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, and online commentary to determine which manufacturers are providing products that their customers love to use. In this category, companies aren’t measured with simulated traffic or price comparisons or tech specs, but instead earn their points by earning the trust and praise of those that count the most: YOU, the customer! End users are, after all, the very center of the network security universe! So if these companies earned your trust–as determined by aggregate reviews and survey responses gathered by IT Central Station–they’ll walk away with 10 points for #1 best-reviewed manufacturer, 8 points for second, 6 for third, and so on.

The Shutout

You may be wondering what happens if the competitors we’ve include don’t appear in one of the tests or lists we use for scoring criteria. When competition is this fierce, only the biggest stars can shine the brightest. That’s why if a competitor fails to show on any of the tests for a given scoring category, they will receive a big fat goose egg for that category. After all, a team probably shouldn’t be in the championship game if they never even made it to invitationals!

Comparing versatile firewall appliances is not an exact science. The results of our March Firewall Madness bracket will determine which firewall manufacturers performed well consistently across a variety of metrics, but this is not intended to be the final word on which team reins supreme or which appliance is right for your specific needs. This article is as much for your entertainment as it is for information, so don’t take our results too seriously. If you want a serious, no-nonsense discussion of which brands are right for you, give our team a call at 866-957-2975 and have a game-changing conversation with a highly-certified expert.

With that, let’s tip off and play some March Firewall Madness!

MEET THE BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

Match-Up Spotlight: Fortinet vs. Juniper

Our spotlight first round matchup is Fortinet versus Juniper Networks. The game started close early, as both of these security vendors checked in as “cool” according to CRN. Fortinet started to squeak out a lead midway through the first half with a few extra points from its top ranking on IT Central Station, then really started pulling away thanks to ratings at or near the top from NSS Labs’ NGFW evaluations, in which Juniper did not participate. And while Juniper got a few late points from Gartner, Fortinet expanded its lead to wrap up a commanding victory and move on in the competition.

In other action, Palo Alto took down Huawei, Cisco was a winner over Forcepoint, and Check Point advanced with a win over Versa Networks.

FINAL FOUR

Match-Up Spotlight: Fortinet vs Palo Alto

Our top semifinal matchup pits Fortinet against another security rival, Palo Alto – a rematch from a close regular season battle which went Fortinet’s way. Could Palo Alto get revenge? They started out hot from the field topping Fortinet in Gartner’s Enterprise Magic Quadrant. But Fortinet stayed close, then struck back with a win in Gartner’s Small Business Magic Quadrant category, in which Palo Alto went unrated. Both vendors were even on cool points, but while Palo Alto pulled ahead on NSS Firewall Throughput, Fortinet started expanding its lead with better Security Effectiveness and Total Cost of Ownership. The final dagger was a 10-0 run thanks to IT Central Station’s rankings, and Fortinet prevailed once again.

In the other semifinal, Cisco came out on top against Check Point, setting up a March Firewall Madness final against Fortinet.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP

Match-Up Spotlight: Fortinet vs Cisco

It’s a clash of the titans in the final, with Fortinet putting its winning streak on the line against a formidable foe in Cisco. Fortinet jumped out early, beating Cisco in NSS Total Cost of Ownership, Security Effectiveness, and Firewall Throughput. The matchup then settled into a back and forth affair, as Cisco and Fortinet exchanged cool points. Fortinet took a small advantage in IT Central’s rankings, but Cisco was right behind. Fortinet maintained its lead into the second half, and took away any chance of a dramatic comeback with wins in both Gartner’s SMB and Enterprise Magic Quadrant.