Top 10 Firewall Hardware Devices for 2022 | Toolbox

Top 10 Firewall Hardware Devices for 2022 | Toolbox

A physical firewall device or firewall hardware is defined as an appliance that sits in-between the uplink and the client system and filters what traffic gets through based on pre-configured security policies, user profiles, and business rules. The uplink carries incoming traffic from public or private networks, whereas the client system is a server, an employee desktop, a WFH system, an IoT node, etc. This article explores the basics of firewall hardware and discusses the top 10 contenders in this space for 2022.

Table of Contents

What Is Firewall Hardware? 

A physical firewall device or firewall hardware is an appliance that sits in-between the uplink and the client system and filters what traffic gets through based on pre-configured security policies, user profiles, and business rules. The uplink carries incoming traffic from public or private networks, whereas the client system is a server, an employee desktop, a WFH system, an IoT node, etc.

Firewall solutions are an integral component of enterprise security. A 2020 report by Palo Alto Networks found that firewalls, including hardware appliances, were the no.1 security measure enterprises adopt to protect their infrastructure. The report said that 96.6% of companies have a firewall in place, with 53.8% also deploying web application firewalls. In fact, more than 1 in 4 organizations rely solely on firewall hardware instead of software or cloud-based solutions. 

So how does firewall hardware work? 

How Firewall Hardware Works

How Firewall Hardware Works

Its primary purpose is to inspect incoming traffic and allow or block data packets according to pre-set configurations. All data moving across networks comprises data packets that contain header information, communicating the source, type, and destination of the packet. The firewall inspects this header information to let in only legitimate traffic. 

Advanced firewall hardware solutions can go a step further by enforcing advanced security policies. These policies can help detect potential malware, zero-day threats, brute force attacks, unauthorized access, and a host of other security risks. You could even integrate the hardware with your security information and event management (SIEM) systems to get real-time alerts, detailed trend analysis, and actionable recommendations for enterprise security. 

In other words, firewall hardware is as much a part of your cybersecurity stack as it is a part of your network management toolkit. 

Here are five things to remember about firewall hardware devices: 

    • The hardware appliance might be built into the router. In such scenarios, you have a multi-purpose router and firewall device. 
    • Technically, a portable computing system with firewall software installed on it is also considered firewall hardware. 
    • Hardware firewalls come with onboard memory to run security policies, execute business rules, and route traffic. 
    • A wide range of firewall hardware devices is available, from a small tabletop device to ruggedized hardware that sits in your server room. 
    • There are two types of firewalls – stateless and stateful – where the latter is more open to customization and complexity. 

Typically, organizations will use firewall hardware devices in conjunction with firewall software to enable an end-to-end secured network landscape. 

Learn more: What Is a Firewall? Definition, Key Components, and Best Practices

Firewall Hardware vs. Software

Firewall software is usually more common than hardware appliances simply because some form of basic firewall software comes bundled with end-user-facing computing systems. Organizations may choose to augment this with specialized firewall software that further analyzes incoming data traffic. Interestingly, firewall software is not a direct replacement for firewall hardware devices. The two are distinct solutions, with several differences: 

Firewall hardware Firewall software
What does it filter?  It filters traffic flowing from the uplink towards your enterprise endpoint systems but before reaching the client.  It filters traffic that has already moved from the uplink into the client but hasn’t yet been accessed by the user. 
How does it get its computing resources?  It has memory and onboard storage to run configurations and temporarily store usage trends.  Its computing power is dependent entirely on the client in which it resides.
Is it easy to integrate?  Yes, you can integrate firewall hardware with other infrastructure components like SIEM or your security operations center (SOC).  Yes, firewall software platforms come with pre-built integrations with common apps. 
What is the coverage like?  Depending on the device, you can protect any networked system from enterprise servers to home IoT devices.  It protects the client on which it is installed and indirectly protects other clients connected via the same network. 
How much does it cost?  Firewall hardware can cost a few hundred dollars for personal use devices, going up to several thousand for enterprise-grade solutions.  Firewall software ranges from free and open-source tools to premium SaaS applications. 
What is its USP?  It prevents malicious or unwanted traffic from entering your systems in the first place, stopping data flow right at the uplink. 

This is critical for enterprise servers, IoT, and other systems where you cannot view internet traffic or its impacts immediately. 

It acts as a critical second line of defense within the system, preventing malicious traffic from wreaking too much havoc. 

Its USP is its ability to use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other sophisticated data analysis methods to uncover threat intelligence insights. 

As you can see, both firewall hardware and software play an important role in ensuring enterprise security. That’s why it is crucial that organizations augment their software-based protection mechanisms with hardware appliances in 2022 if they haven’t done so already. 

Learn more: Top 10 Firewall Software for Desktops in 2021

Top 10 Firewall Hardware Devices in 2022

You can choose from several firewall appliances, depending on your needs. In a multi-billion dollar network security firewall market scheduled to reach $10.5Opens a new window