Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN comparison

Barracuda Networks and Riverbed are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.3, while Riverbed is ranked #29. Barracuda Networks holds a 1.8% mindshare in SDW, compared to Riverbed’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Read 39 Barracuda CloudGen Firewall reviews

773 Views
579 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

SteelConnect EX Enterprise ...

Read 1 SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN review

139 Views
85 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

SteelConnect EX Enterprise ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

10th

Ranking in WAN Edge

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Firewalls (25th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (19th), IoT Security (6th)

SteelConnect EX Enterprise ...

Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

29th

Ranking in WAN Edge

21st

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

RobertSmith15

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

Ensures data security with advanced intrusion prevention and 24/7 monitoring

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.

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Jason Best

Data center network architect at Cloudwire

Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use

It's like an SD-WAN project basically. You really need to make sure that the product matches the needs of what the customer's trying to achieve and their overall strategy to meet their core business requirements. I think a certain customer made a mistake in choosing this solution because a large part of their network was Cisco and they had firewalls that were from Fortinet. I think they would have been better off and it would have been better from a CAPEX, OPEX point of view. It would've been more advantageous for them to have maybe chosen a Cisco or Fortinet solution based on their existing environment. Make sure you understand your network correctly before you try to implement any SD-WAN solution. That was one of the good lessons I learned about SD-WANs with this specific product. I wouldn't say it was a fault of the product. I would say it's more a fault of the CTO who tries to do things quickly without taking into account the existing environment or give the internal faculties the time to provide real low-level design implementation. It was more of a management mistake than from their technical team. In the next release, I would like to see things like integrated security but with local internet breakout instead of using third party solutions like NetScaler or Palo Alto. I would also like to see the integration of things like a VPN so that if you have remote sites where you might have remote workers that need to access the site from home or something, there's a VPN solution. Those are two key features and hotspots in the sort of global crisis. I would rate Riverbed a seven out of ten. I could never give any solution a 10 cause they all have good and bad points. To get any solution to a ten is pretty much impossible. If I was to rate it against others like Fortinet, I would probably give Fortinet an eight or nine. Again, I think you have to be careful because it's very subjective. I think it really depends on the type of environment, the type of customer you're deploying the SD-WAN solution for, and from which perspective you're looking at like if you an operator, if you're a large enterprise, if you're looking for a plug and play type solution. If you're looking for more of a security solution, I would go for Fortinet. It's kind of tough to say. I'd probably put the clouds a little bit ahead of the game because it does what it's supposed to do and easily. It's a little more of a plug and play type solution. Fortinet, for example, is more complex. I put it in a close second place, it's better from a security perspective. It has integration with FortiGuard. After that, I would put Riverbed in third place.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Easy integration with some other systems like LDAP or Active Directory to manage other permissions and the division of external access and internal access."

"When you are sending information to an external email address, Barracuda can warn you when you are trying to access a private or personal email, or trying to upload information and not allow you to do that."

"The ability to be deployed and supported remotely is valuable."

"Most people are using enterprise applications remotely, and there is no license for SSL VPN, or in other words point-to-site. There is no limit on that. On other devices there is a specific limit and you have to pay per use for SSL VPN."

"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."

"The antivirus protection or malware protection has been great."

"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to offer firewall support to our clients."

"Their GPS possibilities and the security that it has, especially the SD-WAN functionality, is very good."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pros

"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."

Cons

"The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be improved."

"Technical support used to be at a very high level but it is now a bit less so."

"The features are a bit limited compared to other vendors."

"When you login from some sources, there is no feature in this box which can log you out after a certain timeout."

"The biggest downside is that it is quite an expensive product."

"There could be improvements in licensing."

"While using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we encounter issues with VPN profiles for Windows."

"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."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall cons

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is good. Licensing is pretty much automatic if using Control Center."

"In general, it tends to be cheaper than most solutions."

"The solution's price is reasonable."

"It is a product with a very transparent model of licensing. In the sense of hidden expenses, they do not exist with this model. "

"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. So for my SMB-level infrastructure, Barracuda has given me a proper solution that is half of the price of Palo Alto or Fortinet."

"My advice is to try and evaluate it (Barracuda offers a trial period of one month)."

"Pricing and licensing are fine. It's worth the value because every four years, if I buy any other product, I have to replace my hardware. But with Barracuda I get a free hardware upgrade. Today I'm using Xbox. After four years I can take another Xbox or a Ybox."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There is an upfront purchase price, and there is also an annual maintenance fee. There are no additional fees."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The encryption and the security standards are valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

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

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What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

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 d...

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 28% of the time

OPNsense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Competitors

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

March 2025

SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN report

Download SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls

SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect

Overview

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is a comprehensive network security solution that provides advanced protection for organizations of all sizes. It offers next-generation firewall capabilities, including application control, intrusion prevention, and web filtering.

With its integrated VPN functionality, it ensures secure remote access for employees. CloudGen Firewall also includes advanced threat intelligence, leveraging real-time updates to detect and block emerging threats. Its centralized management console simplifies administration and provides visibility into network traffic.

CloudGen Firewall can easily adapt to changing business needs based on its scalable architecture.

Barracuda Networks

Accelerate business velocity with enterprise-class SD-WAN. As enterprises and organizations adopt more cloud and SaaS applications to support an increasingly distributed workforce, the hybrid networks connecting it all have been more complex, less predictable and less secure.

Riverbed SteelConnect EX is a powerful enterprise SD-WAN solution that integrates best-in-class routing, application acceleration, network visibility, and security services – a flexible and complete WAN Edge platform that gives you what you need to modernize your network and propel your business in the digital age.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia

Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

March 2025

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