Hi Charlie, I havent used the Barracuda in a setup like yours but we use the webfilter here and love it.
We have 4 remote sites that use site to site leased lines to connect to head office and ADSL for backup, but all internet traffic is routed through the 30Mbit connection at head office. and through the Barracuda. WE have all the servers that talk to the internet excluded from the Web filter, and everything else goes through it. Using AD integration there is no sign on requirements, and support for groups, etc. We have noticed a huge reduction Spyware etc coming through from the internet since implementations The reporting isn't fantastic, but the data collection is. The built in reports produce pretty graphs and pictures for management, and running the raw data through crystal produces everything you could wish for. I believe that if you buy a 410 unit or higher for each site, you can link them together and manage them as almost one unit. Im not sure exactly what settings are shared, but I seem to remember it was policies, users etc. Also last year we beta tested a function to use a Barracuda web site to manage our 310 and a sister companies 310 together it worked well though had some usual beta issues, I'm nut sure if this has been fully released yet. One thing I would say and im sure your Barracuda Sales person will say the same is you cannot upgrade the units, purchase is down to internet connection speed with the 210, 310 and 410 supporting 5, 10 and 20Mb throughput respectively. For those of you paying attention you will have noticed that I said we had a 30Mbit connection and our Barracuda only supports 10Mb, thats because we have split the 30 into 10Mb for client internet 8Mb for site interconnects (4 sites 2Mb each), 10Mbit for servers (Citrix, Exchange, FTP amongst others, (oh and for IT department downloads :) ) Cannot praise th Cudas Highly enough, we use a Spam Firewall, and Web Apllication Firewall as well. Thanks Graeme 2009/8/27 Charlie Kaiser <[email protected]> > Small business client; 2 locations, 25 users SoCal, 35 users NorCal. T1 > between the sites, separate internet pipes at each location. Running AD, > Cisco VoIP, and some SQL over the WAN. > Need to implement web filtering. I've used websense a lot, but not for a > few > years. Never used the barracuda. > Client requirements: > 1. Filter sites by group or individual (i.e., block social networking but > allow linkedin) > 2. Granular filtering by user or AD group. > 3. Per-user reporting > 4. Reasonably simple management interface > I believe either product will perform these tasks easily enough. Tech > requirements are a bit fuzzy, and depend on the implementation. > If we use WS, I could implement a shared DB, but I don't think the WAN > latency is going to support it, especially with the VoIP QOS in place. I'm > seeing ~28 average, 48 max on pings. WS spec is 30ms, so I don't believe I > can realistically do this. I have a call into WS to discuss, though. > Assuming stand-alone installations (which isn't a deal-breaker from an > admin > POV), I'd need two pizza-box servers and WS per-user licensing. > If I go with barracuda, I just buy two appliances and pay for the annual > maintenance. > Both look like I'd need to configure two devices each time I needed to make > a change > > While I haven't fleshed out all the costs, it's looking like the barracuda > comes out a bit ahead on price, which is a factor. Anyone used both? > Thoughts on one or the other? > > Thanks! > > > *********************** > Charlie Kaiser > [email protected] > Kingman, AZ > *********************** > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > -- Good news everyone, you have just received and e-mail from me! Charles de Gaulle<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/charles_de_gaulle.html> - "The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs." ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
