Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Live: Separating Next-Gen Firewall Contenders from the Pretenders
by Martha AvilesThe Magic Kingdom is known for lots of things—Mickey Mouse, Space Mountain, and overpriced 64-oz. sodas. Come late October, the Disney grounds will also see some additional fireworks with a live “firewall faceoff” during the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2011. In BreakingPoint Booth #205, we will be pitting two comparable next-generation firewalls against each other in the ultimate performance battle.
As we see it, there are two types of next-gen firewalls on the market: contenders and pretenders. You’ve seen the pretenders’ pumped-up performance numbers boldly shouted from glossy data sheets—a ploy that’s exposed only after you get on the line with support. But where do those numbers come from? Typically, they are a result of testing in a lab with small and uniform packet sizes, HTTP-only traffic, minimal load, and no actual live attacks—not exactly real-world conditions.
Live Real-World Performance and Security Testing: Why?
To cut through this hype, we are leveraging the Gartner event to challenge two network security devices, one against the other. For a standards-based apples-to-apples comparison, we will be using the BreakingPoint Resiliency Score to measure performance, security, and stability of the firewalls under real network conditions. Instead of the pristine conditions firewalls see in labs, we will hit them with actual recreational, business, and malicious traffic to see how they will perform when deployed. At the end of the show one firewall will be named the winner, and the other will go home a loser.
It’s our goal not only to dispel some of the inflated marketing numbers out there but to show how the BreakingPoint Resiliency Score makes comparing competitive devices simple. The standardized score, from 1 to 100, grades any network device on how it handles real-world traffic mixes, user load, and live security attacks. Wouldn’t you want to know whether you deployed the firewall with the 95 score versus the 65?
Unveiling the Firewall Faceoff Results: Which Vendor Will Win?
Are you one of the 8,000 IT execs attending this year’s Gartner Symposium/ITxpo? If so, be sure to stop by Booth #205 to meet our team and take a guess at the winning firewall. After guessing which one is the winner, you will be entered in a drawing to win an iPad. If you won’t be at the event, just follow this blog to participate and find out the winner in late October.
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