Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Reviews

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.

We use the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall to monitor all incoming emails to our corporate domain. Additionally, we use the device to manage and control outbound traffic from our internal email servers. One of the most beneficial features of this solution is its ability to effectively control traffic.

Since implementing the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we've seen significant benefits, particularly in stopping a lot of unnecessary or dangerous emails. One key feature we value is the ability to train the solution with emails categorized as threats, giving it a learning capacity.

However, the solution isn’t perfect. It sometimes lets through emails incorrectlycategorized as safe but malicious. I believe the tool could be improved by incorporating artificial intelligence to enhance its email analysis capabilities, though I’m unsure if this feature is currently available.

I have experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for ten years.

We haven’t had any stability issues; the device is very stable, even without redundancy.

In terms of scalability, the on-premise solution isn't very flexible. If our corporation's email volume increases, we’d need to change the device as it's impossible to form a cluster by adding another unit. But in the cloud environment, there are no scalability issues. 

We’ve had some issues where support didn’t provide clear solutions or explanations.

Neutral

Setting up the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall was easy. You must configure an IP and set up the domain and DNS servers.The deployment took about a month, and we configured it according to new rules. For example, we noticed it blocked certain needed emails, so we adjusted the settings. We also have the ability to configure both blocklists and allowlists, which adds more control but requires a bit more manual configuration.

We only have one person responsible for maintaining the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, and it’s easy to manage.

In terms of return on investment, it's good. We generate reports about the device's activity, including the emails it blocks, which prevents users from wasting time on commercial, unwanted, or spam emails.

When the corporation purchases something, it follows a request-for-proposal process and the best price wins. So, I think Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is reasonably priced, though I’m not sure of the exact amount

I’d rate the firewall a seven because it hasn’t been upgraded in recent years, and attacks keep evolving. We now need other consoles to complement it since it lacksdevelopment.

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.

Positive

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.

The firewall is robust and performs well for us. The solution is fairly easy to maintain and monitor, check logs and updates, and do daily, weekly, and month-to-month maintenance. We've actually been very happy with the firewalls and also the support.

We have a whole lot more control over the level of protection. Most of my clients are simple manufacturers, and we use the solution to protect them from web bots. They do have an integrated firewall or integrated malware protection and antivirus protection on the firewall. They've solved a lot of service attacks and attacks from simple infection bots that we were experiencing beforehand. The solution has had no downtime since we installed it. As opposed to some other firewalls that tend to lock up occasionally, this solution has never locked up or had any issues. 

The only issues we've ever encountered have been during an update or a change, which were always solved immediately by me or through a simple call to support. The solution's monitoring and logs are very comprehensive, and I've been able to backtrace hacks. Their history logs are very easy to pull on their unit, and they keep tons of data that is way more than I would ever need as far as that point. I have one client to whom we have provided a higher level of protection. Certain machines based on IP or MAC addresses cannot access the Internet. So that took a little bit of advanced configuration to get that going. The solution has phenomenally helped that business to block internet access for certain IP addresses or MAC addresses and yet allow the antivirus and Windows updates to occur. So the solution is good enough for a simple firewall, but they're also advanced enough to do some interesting things depending on your needs.

The stability of the client-to-site VPN or the client VPN software has been excellent. The antivirus protection or malware protection has been great. I love the level of logging with it because it makes running my quarterly reports and things for our ISO certifications a lot easier for us.

The biggest downside is that it is quite an expensive product. So a little bit better pricing or some options for a little bit cheaper device would be nice. They are quite complex to get up and running for anything beyond a basic installation. They could do something better with their initial setup wizard to make things just a little bit easier. Besides that, they're pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

I've been using the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for a little over four to five years.

I rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall a ten out of ten for stability because their stability has been excellent.

The solution is very scalable because you can use it for a simple setup or some quite advanced features. I rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall a nine out of ten for scalability.

Their customer support has exceeded my expectations for every interaction we've ever had. I initially called them to ask how to set up the solution, and the guy walked me right through it. He was extremely knowledgeable, and he knew his stuff. Their customer support is available anytime, and it's quite easy to get a hold of them. Their process is a little strange. You have to get a call in and give them your info, and they log a ticket. After that, they get a tech to either work with you or they will call you back if their wait times are longer. Other than that, their support has been superb.

I rate their customer support a ten out of ten because they've been fantastic.

Positive

We used NETGEAR ProSAFE models. I also have quite a good experience with the D-Link AC line. Those were the two solutions that we were primarily using before the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall.

We decided to go with the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall because we wanted something more comprehensive and more powerful with better protection. The NETGEAR model is a thing of the past, and they're no longer selling those. The D-Links are still available, but they're nowhere near the protection and features that Barracuda CloudGen Firewall provides. So we were looking for a better product for small to medium-sized businesses, especially with all the hacking and everything coming out of other countries.

The initial setup is complex. I rate their initial setup a six or seven out of ten.

Setting up the solution with the company usually takes an hour and a half. Our most advanced case took about three hours.

I've always implemented the solution in-house or in-house with help from support. Typically, just one person is involved in the deployment of the solution.

There is minimal upkeep and maintenance on the device. You can configure it, set it up, and pretty much never touch it again if you wish. You may need to do the periodic updates they release that improve its features and protection. Once it's set up and configured, you can almost walk away from it until the device quits working. So far, we've only had one actual failure, and it was due to power issues. So, they've been rock solid, and you could configure it and walk away and not have any real maintenance if you wish. Or you can maintain it and keep it functioning at the top level.

I rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall an eight out of ten for its pricing. It's not the most expensive, but it's certainly not cheap. It costs around $2000 a year for licensing, instant replacement, antivirus, virus or malware protection, and the general support contract we use. I am not aware of any additional costs to the standard licensing fee we pay for this solution.

We have not had any major technical problems. If we do ever have technical issues, their support has been extremely helpful. It is quite a complicated piece of hardware to configure, and I would love to find better training for that. However, someone with a technical background can set them up. We usually do the hardware replacement through their system every four years. They will send you a new device so long as you have kept the hardware replacement and the support up during the four years. So that's been an incredible plus to the unit itself.

I recommend having a talented or knowledgeable IT staff install it or be prepared to call support and spend time with them to get it installed. It's not simple by any means. Beyond that, be prepared to have a little bit of downtime while you're doing the installation. It's not a quick install. It's not something you can put in and have the network up in a few minutes, and it will take you a little while. And also, you need somebody that's either quite knowledgeable about it or is willing to work with their support team to set up the solution.

Typically, the deployment model used is on-premises or an on-premise and hybrid setup.

Overall, I rate Barracuda CloudGen Firewall an eight out of ten because my overall experience with the solution has been good.

Our primary use case is for our office abroad. There are 50 of us at the office each day. We also use the firewall for working from home and calling in.

What I find the most valuable about the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that it allows you to see what people are doing and what the highest rate or performance is among our team. Another valuable feature is the security of this solution. To further improve security, we'll buy the F280 version of this product.

I would like to see the connection improved. We now have a one gigabyte connection and the old firewall has 500 MBs. That's not enough, which is why we are also buying a new firewall for at least one gigabit, which will give us a faster line and faster internet.

In the next release, I'd like to see more security for viruses and similar things and also block DDOS.

I have been using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for about seven years now.

I would rate the scalability of this solution a nine, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best. We have been using Barracuda for seven years, and thus far, we've had no issues as it was working perfectly.

I would rate the scalability of this solution an eight, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best. We have about 80 users currently in various departments.

Our partners usually contact their technical support. The feedback we got from our partners about the technical support was that they provide insightful and helpful support.

The initial setup took one day and it was done through third-party installers.

Implementation was done through a third party.

To further improve security, we'll buy the F280 version of this product. The F280 subscription costs EUR 3,000. There are a few extra expenses like paying for updates or new firewalls. 

The Barracuda solution has a one-off cost of EUR 3,000. On a yearly basis, with it you have extra expenses like Energize updates and Instant Replacements and Network Security CloudGen Firewall, including the monthly fees.

I would most definitely recommend this solution to other people.

Overall, I would rate the Barracuda solution F80 version an eight, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.

The solution is the main firewall for a site. It protects it from any inbound threats and also controls outbound traffic. That's the main use.

They have very good security. You need special client software in order to configure the firewall. It doesn't have its own web interface, so as far as security goes, they're locked down very tightly.

The solution is stable.

It's scalable. 

They have a very complicated interface. It's very hard to learn. 

The administration interface should be more intuitive or easier to use. They should also include bundle training. That would be a benefit.

The initial setup is complex. 

We found the solution to be stable. It's more stable than Fortinet. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. 

Scaling depends on the connected circuits and their bandwidth. I don't think that we were hitting, or even close to the box's capability, the firewall itself. So far, it's been scalable. 

Everybody in the organization is using it, and we have about 150 users. It was for various different roles. Since we are a healthcare organization, we had healthcare providers, front desk registration staff, administrative staff, and various different types of people on it.

Support was not very good at all. It could use a lot of improvement. They don't really have good documentation. The interface is quite complex. The available training is not very good, and the documentation is not very good, so if you always have to speak to an engineer to solve your problem and that is not very good support.

Neutral

We previously used Fortinet.

We were having some hardware quality issues with Fortinet. They were not stable. They would freeze up quite frequently and require frequent reboots. Barracuda ended up being more stable.

The initial setup it requires a session with a Barracuda engineer that can help to translate all of the rules from the old firewall to the new firewall. They should, rather than making the interface very complex, simplify the interface, and include training so that it can have more of a do-it-yourself approach.

We were upgrading from a previous model or a previous different vendor. We were using Fortinet before, and the implementation didn't take very long. It probably took a couple of months.

Just one network administrator is needed for deployment and maintenance. 

The solution was necessary so it's not really a return on investment. It couldn't be measured since we were replacing one firewall with another firewall as it was necessary to do so. I'm not exactly sure how we would measure the return on investment in that case.

Pricing is comparable to other firewall solutions. I don't really have an opinion about the cost. Cost seems to be in line with their competitors.

We're a customer and end-user.

As far as the stability and performance go, I would rate the solution probably at an eight out of ten.

The last project was a project for a government, and it was to build a secure, private distributed system in two different countries.

In the last project, we choose this brand of firewall. Normally, customers are asking us which is the better solution. Normally, since Barracuda has many different features, it is quite easy to use Barracuda instead of something else, since it offers a full set of features. It has a full-feature license. It is easy to adapt the solution to the customer's needs.

It's great to have an unlimited VPN, advanced threat protection, many other features inside the proxy server, and so on. It's far easier than building out of Barracuda fiber than, for example, Check Point, where you have to buy every single module independently from the other.

It is a product that is very feature-rich.

It's quite robust.

The initial setup is very easy.

It's great for handling complex items. If you want to flag Facebook you can. If you want to create a cluster, it's easy. There are many things you can do using this product and they make it all very simple. 

The management program is something that only certain people understand. It does its own logic sometimes. It's very hard to use it. Barracuda is complex in terms of doing simple things. It could be more user-friendly. It needs to be more logical.

The price is a bit higher than other vendors.

I've been using the solution for six to eight years It's been a while. 

It is a very stable product. I've never had a problem bad enough to reboot one firewall.

The portfolio is quite broad. We can sell this firewall to very small companies or to big ones.

The scalability is easy. If you need to switch the file, you just need to contact them, switch with the IR model, pay the difference, and then you can load the old parameter file to the new one. So it's easy.

I call support sometimes. I have to admit that customer support was better three or four years ago. Now, they switched their first level of support to India. Sometimes it's quite difficult to understand the technician. Then, if you go to the second level of support, it's far easier, since they are here in Austria. It's not a problem to talk with them. The second level of support is performed by people who are writing the software. They know the product very well.

Neutral

We've also used Check Point in the past, however, it's not a full-feature solution. 

The implementation process is a walk in the park. IT's just next, next, next and you are done. You change a couple of parameters, and then you are online. Then you just adapt the firewall to the customer's needs. The setup is very easy. It's even easier if you are using the control center, even if it's quite expensive.

The initial setup itself might take 15 minutes or so. 

It's a five out of five in terms of ease of setup. 

There is some maintenance, however, it is minimal. Maybe every four years you'll need to switch the firewall. That's it. The new firewall is sent directly to the customer site. Then we just need to download the configuration file from the old one and just turn off a switch and turn on the new one.

We do the entire implementation by ourselves. 

The cost of the solution is higher than other vendors, yet with the extra cost. 

For a low-level firewall, it's likely less than 1,00 Francs a year. They work on a yearly subscription model. 

We typically buy a full-featured package that has everything inside. 

I'd rate the pricing a three out of five in terms of affordability. 

I'm working with the most recent update. 

We are reselling Barracuda to our customers.

I'd recommend the solution to others.

I would rate it eight out of ten. 

I use Barracuda to protect my network from intruders and to control application usage, as well as for bandwidth balancing and prioritizing applications. It is used for external protection and internal restrictions.

As the head of technology, I design networks and infrastructure. While designing the infrastructure, my concern is the security part, including the firewall. The solution has to be automated and I need to have proper support once I install the infrastructure. I need 24-hour support, which cannot be done on my side as my IT team is small.

The way Barracuda has helped is that, once I have configured a system, it is taken care of by the Barracuda support team. If anything goes wrong or I need any kind of support, I just call their support number and get 24/7 support. They call me back from this or that country, they take over the firewall, and they provide the solution. They are basically working as my extended support team. This is one of the advantages of Barracuda.

In addition, during the eight years I have been using Barracuda, I have had hundreds of thousands of attacks on my network and all of the attacks have been addressed by Barracuda with a proper solution for all of them. My network has never been interrupted, there has been no denial of service—nothing like that—for eight years. That's why I am loyal to Barracuda.

Overall, Barracuda has increased the speed and performance of the infrastructure by 15 percent. And it has decreased expenses in the sense that it is protecting my data. In the smallest network that we handle, the value of data per year is €20 million.

Its advanced protection against threats like malware is fantastic. As I noted, in eight years I haven't had an incident.

Barracuda provides Zero Trust access for work from home, for almost any application and from almost any device. That is important because of the Corona situation. Before Corona, we already had about 20 percent in a work-from-home situation in our network, but because of Corona, 80 percent of our work is done from home right now. That makes this feature really important. Before, it was 20 percent important, but now it is 80 percent important.

In addition, its central management, especially when it comes to distributed environments, is great. I can generate and save a setting and then apply that setting across the network with just one click.

There is room for improvement in

• performance
• the support language.

The support they're providing right now is from a different country, and in our country, there are people—network admins and IT heads—who don't speak English properly. So Barracuda needs to provide support agents who speak additional languages, such as Bangla.

Another problem with Barracuda, in my experience, is the appliance lifetime. For example, the policy for the X300 device that they sold to us was that you renew every year and, after the third year, you get a new appliance. But after the third year, they made the device obsolete. So instead of getting the next one free, they charged me for a new one. This kind of bad sales practice is not appreciated.

I have been using Barracuda for the last eight years. I started using the X300 and then the X400, and now I'm using the cloud solution as well.

On average, the firewall has ceased service or has gone down during seven days out of 365.

Deploying the solution is pretty straightforward. The problem is that the authorized distributors' deployment engineers in our country make it complex. Generally, it is self-explanatory and not very difficult. So they have to improve their local support.

One problem with Barracuda is that they don't have an auto conversion of the settings from different routers such as MikroTik or Cisco. That means you have to do every rule manually. In a small, 100-computer network, it can take six to seven hours to write all the rules manually.

The pricing is very cheap compared to Cisco ASA, which we used before, and compared to Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet. Barracuda has different solutions for different people. For my SMB-level infrastructure, Barracuda has given me a proper solution that is half of the price of Palo Alto or Fortinet.

The biggest lesson I have learned from using Barracuda is that the next time I buy a product I'll make sure that the device support and the device life cycle and replacement are very clearly written on my document. In addition, I have to ensure that support is from a local team and that it will not be on a call basis to somewhere else.