I think the support really depends on the vendor's business model. We use
Checkpoint in only one or two locations, which makes us small potatoes for
Checkpoint. We use Cisco products extensively, which makes us a
little-bit-bigger potato for Cisco. (the dreaded "potato" business model
:P)
For us, contacting Checkpoint directly for support is akin to asking for
divine intervention. We found that going through one of their VAR's, who
happened to also be a dedicated network security company (and a good one, at
that), brought much needed Checkpoint-approved technical assistance. I
think Checkpoint expects small customers to use their VAR's and therefore
does not give them priority over direct customers when they do actually
contact to a human.
Cisco uses the same model, such that a customer who only purchases a few
products is expected to use a VAR. Since we are a direct Cisco customer,
and are more Cisco-centric in our understanding of their design
architecture, we have greater access to Cisco's technical resources, which
makes their products easier to configure and support.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Haigh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Firewall List (E-mail)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 8:16 PM
Subject: Choice of Firewall
> We are currently re-assesing our Firewall and are looking to replace it
with
> one that provides greater flexibility. We have looked at Firewall-1,
> ipchains, Phoenix Adaptive Firewall, PIX and so far find Firewall-1 to be
a
> good product that is pretty easy to use. The cost and supposedly bad
> technical support though is forcing us to look at other options, could
> people please share their experiences.
>
> We are willing to pay for a product that has good logging, GUI admin and
> strong security.
>
> Thanks
>
> Andy Haigh
>
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