Besides NetGate’s famous ARM-based desktop hardware, the company released a product that can be both the firewall and router at the same time called the SG-1100. A pfSense firewall software accompanies this fresh design along with tons of upgrades from its predecessor.
PfSense is a free-to-use software with an open-source program tailored to be used as both a router and a firewall. Aside from the product being a flexible and powerful firewall, it also offers an array of features for its consumers. This article will talk about everything there is to know about NetGate’s pfSense Firewall SG-1100 router/firewall.
NetGate’s pfSense SG-1100
If you’re looking for decent hardware that can protect you and yourself from cyber threats, then look no further than the Netgate SG1100. The product is compact and substantial hardware that can provide security for your network, besides making the pfSense software open source.
Moreover, NetGate is a well-established company with a goal in mind to develop products of the highest quality for the consumers. If the average consumer is looking for a gateway firewall device for their office or home as they run a connection under 500mbps, pfSense SG-1100 offers favorable features that might suit all of your needs.
About NetGate
Founded back in 2004, NetGate is a privately-held industry-leading company popularly known as a dependable provider of products that offers the highest security. The company uses two contrasting platforms called the pfsense and the tnsr. Both platforms cover an array of functionalities, support needs, and applications.
Choosing between two different platforms all depends on various requirements that a user needs. pfSense is a more suitable approach for a small amount or single locations in a network. However, on the one hand, tnsr is more suitable to protect a much more extensive network.
Choosing This Product Over Others
NetGate’s pfSense SG-1100 is an external hardware that is sleek, compact, fanless, and a much lighter form factor compared to the rest of the SG lineup. Inspecting the hardware, you’ll see a neat and clean white box with a package that speaks of elegance. Underneath the housing of the device, it has a flexible arrangement for its modules.
The product also runs on an energy-efficient and powerful network processing system named the ARMADA 3720. Additionally, the device also runs on a processor with a dual Cortex-A53 ARM chip and a considerable amount of high-speed inputs and outputs. It’s also worth mentioning that the device is based on a Marvell Espressobin blueprint.
The NetGate SG-110 can be mounted in various places, whether it’s a shelf or a desk. Aside from it’s cost-efficiency having 5x more speed and 2x more storage for RAM, the device can also be seamlessly used as an external firewall for networks up to 500Mpbs throughput, and routers speed up to 1Gbps. Anyhow, here are more key features of NetGate’s SG-1100:
pfSense Software
The pfSense software from NetGate is a network security program that’s open-source, so the software can be configured by using a web-based interface. Moreover, the software provides its users with a feature-rich firewall that’s fully dependable and cloud-based protection that functions as a commercial and expensive firewall.
The pfSense software has various uses, such as allowing users to change the packet filtering firewall, VPN router appliance, and DNS server. It can also be configured with various other devices and applications.
Packet Filtering Performance.
Packet filtering is a method used to control access to the network. You can either exit or stop depending on your packet’s source, IP address, ports, and protocols. The traffic flow is quick because it has no signature reading.
That being said, to get traffic through the firewall, you will need to open specific ports. However, there’s a catch; this kind of technology makes it both unsecured and secure at the same time. As long as no ports are open for suspicious traffic, it is safe, quick, and secure. Once a port has been opened, it will not block all malicious traffic.
Microchip Crypto Authentication Device
If ever you’re purchasing a product that uses pfSense, always check the Microchip CryptoAuthentication device. Why? Because in doing so, you’ll make sure that what you’re purchasing is running a pfSense software that’s both authentic and unaltered. This particular feature is worth mentioning as not all devices on the same lineup have this kind of guarantee.
Flexible Configuration
NetGate’s pfSense SG-1100 performs better than its predecessor by having the higher performance and capabilities. It’s due to the fact that the product follows the Marvell Espressobin architecture, which uses a computing platform in a single board. It’s as basic as it gets, yet the product can support VPN, multi-WAN, load balancing, reporting, and more.
IDS or Intrusion Detection System
With IDS or the Intrusion Detection System built-in to the device’s software, it will have the capability of detecting unwanted intrusion in real-time. This feature includes the capability of having packets pre-processed, passed to the engine for detection, and compared against common attack signatures.
IPS or Intrusion Prevention System
This technology in the SG-1100 will continuously monitor the networks that go through its firewall as it scans for any malicious threats. The feature also looks for whole packets and records the data about the cyber threats for future reference. Similar to the Intrusion Detection System, the IPS feature prevents the attacks from ever happening.
Load Balancing
Whenever there’s continuous traffic flowing and transmitting irregularly in your network through the use of the packet filtering performance, it will build a pathway to have an effective packet distribution. All of this can be done through the program’s Load Balancing feature as it evens out the traffic by dispensing it to the output ports.
Takeaway
The product offers some promising properties that can help consumers protect their files and themselves from cyber threats. Most of the product’s functionality focuses on the speed of the network and the computer’s memory. However, it’s an aspiring ARMADA processor with full Suricata IDS engine, gigabit routing, and many others at a cheap price. Try it out for yourself!
Daniel Segun is a technology writer with over 5 years of experience. He loves to teach and inspire others. When he is not writing, he’s probably busy developing websites. You can reach him here.
