My main use case with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is securing branch offices with remote users and hybrid environments while maintaining stable connectivity. I used it for firewall perimeter security and site-to-site VPN between offices and remote users' VPN access, as well as for intrusion prevention and web filtering, and SD-WAN for branch connectivity and traffic visibility and control.

I mainly use Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for managing VPN users, monitoring branch office connectivity, and reviewing blocked traffic logs. I also handle web access control, IPS alerts review, and traffic prioritization.

The best feature of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is its SD-WAN capability because it helps optimize branch connectivity, along with strong VPN and multi-site connectivity. It is very useful for multiple offices and remote users. Traffic and bandwidth control are also important, especially when business applications need priority. Security services being in one platform includes firewall, IPS, filtering, and VPN. The hybrid cloud feature works well with mixed on-premises and cloud environments. To me, the most valuable feature is VPN and branch connectivity management because it offers secure access across multiple offices and remote user teams.

The VPN and branch connectivity management features make my work easier by connecting branch offices and the head office, along with cloud resources over time. For example, currently, one of my biggest clients has their head office in Bangalore and branch offices in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Pune, with users working remotely from home. They share ERP and a file server in the head office or Azure cloud, so instead of using one internet access between the offices, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall creates an encrypted VPN tunnel between these locations, such as from the Mumbai office to the Bangalore office and Hyderabad office to Bangalore office. Remote users connect securely to the computer network.

When branch offices face unstable internet connectivity and users complain that business applications are slow, I review the traffic through Barracuda CloudGen Firewall. I identified the bandwidth and heavy non-business traffic that affects critical applications. I also use traffic shaping policy control and prioritize business applications and VPN traffic, which improved performance quickly without requiring new hardware or extra internet service provider changes. The logs also help confirm the malicious traffic causing the issue.

Improvement areas for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include addressing advanced setup complexity and needing in-depth documentation. Some advanced scenarios require clear examples, so they need to work more on documentation. Initial deployment also takes time, so if they address the initial deployment aspect, that advanced setup complexity would be another important area to improve.

I worked with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for approximately one and a half years, mainly from a network security and branch connectivity perspective.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers very good stability.

Its scalability is high, making it suitable for SMB, mid-size businesses, and distributed branch connectivity environments.

The customer support for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is good. I would rate customer support at seven point five out of ten.

I previously used basic firewalls with separate VPN solutions before switching to Barracuda CloudGen Firewall.

Initial deployment takes time, so if they address the initial deployment aspect, that advanced setup complexity would be another important area to improve.

For return on investment, if an organization has more than one office, they should consider this solution because it significantly improves branch productivity and reduces connectivity issues, providing strong, secure remote access. These are the main three points for return on investment that I have noticed.

Overall, the pricing for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is mid to premium depending on size, bandwidth, and security subscriptions.

Before choosing Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, I evaluated other options, including Fortinet FortiGate, SonicWall, Cisco Meraki, and WatchGuard Firebox.

I had one branch where users reported that application access was slow. I checked the traffic and found bandwidth overused by streaming traffic, applied policy control, and prioritized VPN and business application traffic. The users saw an improvement on the same day. Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall helped us securely connect with branch offices and remote users through encrypted VPN tunnels while managing bandwidth and failover links to keep business applications stable.

Since I started using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, I have noticed stable branch connectivity, better secure remote access, and faster troubleshooting of network issues, along with reduced downtime for WAN issues and improved security visibility across offices. It provides better control of internet traffic. Regarding reduced downtime for WAN issues, it is around thirty to forty percent according to my experience.

For organizations considering Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, it is essential to evaluate not just firewall security but also WAN optimization and VPN experiences if they have multiple offices or remote users. Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is a very practical choice for organizations requiring both security and reliable branch connectivity. It is very useful where networking and security teams need one platform. I give this solution a rating of eight out of ten.

My main use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is as a combined solution for application performance boost and secure SD-WAN, which I typically rely on to boost application performance by ensuring reliable connectivity to remote sites and users.

There are rush hours where traffic from cloud apps and off-network users increases and crowds the network. With Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we are able to boost performance of crucial apps and high-priority projects in a very secure manner. This way, my top-priority ports do not experience downtimes.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall helps me boost application performance specifically by being capable of directly sending internet traffic with appropriate security inspection within no backhauls, whether it is SaaS or internet-bound traffic.

In my department, we have achieved consistent network link pooling and data caching optimization for both handling critical workloads, thereby saving a lot of work. There is always enough bandwidth for applications with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall optimization. We are, however, not completely satisfied with their link redundancy handling capabilities.

I use Barracuda CloudGen Firewall as a router and firewall in all of our organization globally, which is to terminate all management VPN tunnels to our organization and within the same country to avoid problems with long-distance internet connections.

The best features Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers, in my experience, include its ability to scale dynamically, dispatch traffic to match workloads, utilize next-gen firewalls to assure data security, and provide great routing, firewall, and network management.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's next-gen firewall capabilities increase the level of network protection against threats, visibility, and control of applications that users access. I also appreciate the URL filtering to block unauthorized or prohibited websites on the internal corporate network, protection against diverse malware at the edge of the network, and firewall redundancy with another backup appliance.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has positively impacted my organization by increasing the level of network protection against threats from twenty percent to forty-five percent. It has enhanced visibility and control of applications that users access. It prevents cyberattacks and optimizes network and user management, making security more reliable over the past years.

I measured the improvement from twenty percent to forty-five percent based on fewer incidents of data breaches and also robust hardware that supports more than eighty thousand simultaneous connections, thereby being very stable.

To improve Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, it would be great to manage all firewalls in one pane of glass without charging more for this, get better push notifications, and also have better online documentation to make the learning curve much easier and smooth.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall still cannot combat link redundancy speedily. One time a network link failed, and it took a while before restoring traffic from the backup link, so this should be highly improved.

I chose an eight out of ten because Barracuda CloudGen Firewall cannot combat link redundancy speedily, while a ten rating is warranted as it has mainly boosted our application performance by ensuring reliable connectivity to remote sites and users.

I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for almost five years.

In my experience, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has been reliable and very high performing. I have not noticed any lagging or downtime.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's scalability is great, as it can handle growth easily.

I have reached out to the customer support team a few times, and they have been very responsive and proactive.

I previously used a different solution called Smoothwall SWG.

I decided to switch from Smoothwall SWG to Barracuda CloudGen Firewall because Smoothwall SWG was more costly compared to Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, and it had many complicated features.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very easy to set up and manage VPN connections, and it has great customization options.

It is very easy to manage Barracuda CloudGen Firewall. The dashboard allows us to configure all our need-to-see options, and the user interface is easily navigated and customized.

Since we started using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, security has greatly improved, which is a notable return on investment.

My experience with pricing is that while the licensing cost can be reduced and is somewhat costly, the price is good and affordable.

Before choosing Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, I evaluated other options, including Panda Adaptive Defense 360.

My advice to others looking into using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that it is perfect for any size of organization to help remote workers connect seamlessly with the VPN product, boosting security and preventing data breaches, so the network is made stable. I gave this product a rating of eight out of ten.

We use Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for protection in our network and IPsec. We also set up BGP for our customers.

The most valuable features of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include antivirus protection, anti-DDoS, and IPS. We also find the bandwidth management and traffic shaping features effective for traffic optimization. The policy that allows for license renewal and hardware refresh every four years also offers cost efficiency for us.

The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be improved. The initial setup can also be complex because it involves navigating different menus instead of a linear setup process. Integration with AI would be helpful as modern attacks often utilize AI.

I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for eight years. We are a partner of Barracuda.

When we use Barracuda, we have not experienced any attacks or security breaches.

I am quite satisfied with Barracuda's technical support. However, the menu is not as user-friendly, though the overall security has been satisfactory, with no breaches.

I have worked with several firewalls before using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall.

The initial setup can be a bit complex because it involves different menus and sections. It is not straightforward like others, which use everything in one flow.

The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.

Customers seeking other options often consider solutions like FortiGate due to its reputation in Gartner Quadrant.

Customers seeking products based on Gartner Quadrant leadership might not prefer Barracuda, as it is not positioned as a leader.

I would rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall at eight out of ten.

I recommend this firewall for small to medium businesses, however, larger enterprises might look for something with a higher brand reputation.

Primarily, we cater to data center customers who locate their servers, applications, and data within one of our data centers. These customers use the firewall to secure their perimeter.

I find the intrusion prevention system to be valuable, along with the fact that it can now integrate with Barracuda's XDR. This integration helps secure our data and applications from attackers trying to gain access and detect malicious activity.

Additionally, the easy addition of XDR allows us to have 24/7 SOC monitoring. All of the information is located in the central management system, enabling customers to see performance and get reports. We can also access the system for policy updates, firmware updates, etc.

There could be improvements in licensing. Some licensing aspects are challenging; for example, if you're using an active-passive setup, you have to license both firewalls. Some competitors now offer a floating license between the two. They offer more streamlined license allocation.

I have used the solution for one year.

I rate the stability as ten. We have very few issues with Barracuda Firewall, even in the case of zero-day vulnerabilities, which are fewer compared to competitors.

The firewalls are very good and scalable. However, if you are moving into higher-end services, there may be some other products that are more viable.

When positioning into customers, some larger enterprise customers tend to move towards one of the top three: either Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto. For SME and SMB partners, the scalability of the solution is really good, however, enterprise customers may start seeing additional features in other larger players that they might be looking for.

I rate the customer service as ten out of ten. Barracuda's partner support is better than the majority, and it stands out as one of their strengths. It covers solution design and is available to assist with the configuration of devices, onboarding, and support, offering enhancement and optimization for ongoing services.

I'm aware of Meraki. With Meraki, if you have two firewalls, you only need one license. However, with Barracuda, you need to license both firewalls, which makes them more expensive.

I rate the initial setup as ten out of ten.

It is straightforward to set up a CloudGen file, taking a couple of hours. Once we have the configuration agreed with the customer, the setup and onboarding are completed within a few hours.

We receive the box from Barracuda or from our stores, pre-stage it into our network for initial configuration and Soak testing to ensure functionality. The customer can install it at their location, or we do it on their behalf.

We run the firewall in simulation mode to observe traffic and ensure service transition is effective. After confirming functionality with the customer, we transition to a live service.

I would strongly encourage considering the full stack solution offered by Barracuda, including their XDR overlay service and wider secure edge service. These integrate closely with the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and offer a holistic security layer.

I rate the overall solution nine out of ten.

One of the big benefits of the product is that it allows you to manage big environments with fewer resources. The product offers very good management.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall should work a little bit more with the logs so that, in our company, we can generate a little bit more reports and get a bit more statistics, which would be fine for us. The firewall's functionalities are okay, including network and security. The tool should improve its reporting and security areas, which are the only areas of concern related to the product.

I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for twenty-two years. I use the solution's different model versions, including Barracuda CloudGen Firewall F12.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution.

The product is easy to deploy, configure, and update.

I would prefer users to opt for Palo Alto in enterprise-sized environments, like energy companies, health companies, or financial organizations. Compared to Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls, Palo Alto offers its users a little bit more security. Palo Alto's threat prevention, sandboxing functionalities, and web filtering features are good. I don't know the other vendors so well that I could talk about them.

Though there are some issues with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, those working with it in our company are mostly satisfied with it.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

The solution has a couple of use cases in VPN. We have branches connecting to the head office. We have users connecting to VPNs. We also use SSL VPN.

The encryption and the security standards are valuable.

We need high availability and load balancing. The product does not enable load balancing. We are looking for alternate solutions. We have multiple VPN channels with clients and sites. We need to ensure that the traffic is optimized so that the full bandwidth of the existing network is utilized. If the link goes down, the traffic must be routed without any downtime in the connection.

I have been using the solution for the past six years.

I rate the tool’s stability a nine out of ten. We haven't faced any issues with the stability.

I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. The features are a bit limited compared to other vendors. Scaling with limited options doesn’t make sense. Around 80 people are using the solution.

We have contacted support for configuration or troubleshooting. We involve support in areas where the product lacks features. The support is quite good. I rate the support a nine and a half out of ten.

I have seen a return on investment from the solution. We will be using the device refresh feature next year. The devices will be upgraded free of charge.

The product is a bit cheaper than some solutions. It depends on the type of load.

We are partners of the product. The solution must include as many features as possible. Each environment has different use cases. The features provided by the tool must be flexible enough to address our use cases and requirements. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

The product has a good interface. The system's logic is quite organized and effective compared to the pricing. Additionally, it provides a lot of functionality adhering to the current trends.

While using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we encounter issues with VPN profiles for Windows. It could be improved.

We have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall since 2016.

I rate the platform’s stability a nine out of ten.

We have 300 Barracuda CloudGen Firewall users. I rate its scalability a nine out of ten.

The platform’s technical support services are good. We refer to a published guide in case of errors.

I am familiar with FortiGate and Check Point. We prefer Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for a stable environment, new infrastructure, and reasonable implementation offers.

We have been using the platform for a few years now. So, the initial setup process is simple for us.

The platform is inexpensive compared to other vendors. I rate its pricing a five out of ten. We have purchased its support services for three years.

We are going to evaluate Barracuda and Cloud Genesys to get a better understanding of VPN issues.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers a separate license for VPN clients with some easy-to-use features. If you buy the module, you can use the entire features. The only issue is that it is not as popular as FortiGate.

I recommend it to others and rate it an eight out of ten.