WatchGuard Firebox SOHO 6tc

As the name implies, this distinctive firewall appliance is aimed primarily at small offices looking for a simple network security device. Build quality is particularly good, and this little red box manages to pack in four 10/100BaseTX LAN ports for connecting end devices or other hubs or switches and a single WAN port for linking up with a broadband device or ISDN router. The extra OPT Ethernet port was disabled on the review system, but an optional upgrade, which will be available by the time you read this, will allow it to provide a second broadband connection that can be used as a backup link. In fact, a wealth of options and upgrades await, as you may also use the OPT port to enforce a separate security policy to an attached device such as a wireless access point.

Installation isn't as slick as the routine provided by the SonicWALL Tele3 SP (see above). You point a web browser at the appliance's default IP address to access its browser management interface, but no Wizards are provided to get you up and running. Furthermore, it was surprising to find the unit came without a default administrator username and password, making it essential that this security hole is closed immediately. Apart from this lapse, general security is good, with the default set to block all incoming traffic, requiring you to open up access to different services. The 6tc comes with a wide range of predefined services, but it's simple to add your own. The web interface is a tidy affair that provides easy access to all areas, although decent online help would be better than just being sent back to WatchGuard's website.

You can apply rules to outgoing services to control what LAN users are able to access on the Internet, but the SonicWALL approach is easier to understand - the 6tc doesn't offer the same list of tick-boxes for specific options such as ActiveX controls or Java applets. You can create custom lists of blocked websites, but only IP addresses or ranges are accepted and not URLs.

WatchGuard's LiveSecurity service could prove invaluable, as it downloads updates to the appliance. You get a 90-day subscription included, which can be extended for a mere £75 a year, and it includes a web content-filtering service that may be used to control access to sites deemed inappropriate for business use. Applying upgrades is a simple task, because they're already installed on the appliance and just need activating from the main status screen. Event logging is minimal, as the appliance only maintains a record of the last 150 events and even here the information provided is sparse, making it difficult to determine if an attack has taken place.

VPN support is more basic than SonicWALL's, with remote client support an optional extra. VPNs between two IPSec-compliant firewalls are supported and the only feature that differentiates the 6tc from the basic SOHO 6 is that it includes the Branch Office VPN, allowing six gateways to be created.

Overall, the SOHO 6tc is a good small or remote office firewall, although it isn't as simple to install as the SonicWALL devices, so administrators will need to be more knowledgeable to configure it correctly.

Author: Dave Mitchell