Like most of the other products in the category, the Barracuda Web Filter offers web content filtering as well as application blocking and protection from malware coming in at the gateway, but it also has several functions that appeal to the enterprise in terms of deployment options. This filter can be deployed as a standalone single appliance or as several across the various departments, and policy can be managed from a single unit. This appliance also features a downloadable agent that installs on employee laptops to ensure that even when employees are offsite they still adhere to the internet usage policies.
We found this product to be fairly simple to deploy and configure. The only slight downside to setting up the appliance is that everything is done manually without the use of wizards. With that said, the steps are easy and do not take very long to complete. The first part of the deployment is to connect a keyboard and monitor to the appliance to configure IP and network information. After the information has been entered, all further management is done through a web interface.
Documentation included a short quick-start guide illustrating the steps necessary to get the appliance up and running in the network, as well as a full administrator's guide. The guide included many step-by-step configuration instructions, as well as a few diagrams but very little in the way of screen shots.
Barracuda offers three levels of support to customers. Each offers various options, including phone and email technical support, access to firmware updates and access to dedicated engineers.
At a cost just under $4,000 for the device, plus an annual subscription fee of around $1,100, this appliance may seem a little pricey, but we find it to be an excellent value for the money based on the fact that there are no per-user fees. It is really easy to use, as well as quite scalable for any environment.
We found this product to be fairly simple to deploy and configure. The only slight downside to setting up the appliance is that everything is done manually without the use of wizards. With that said, the steps are easy and do not take very long to complete. The first part of the deployment is to connect a keyboard and monitor to the appliance to configure IP and network information. After the information has been entered, all further management is done through a web interface.
Documentation included a short quick-start guide illustrating the steps necessary to get the appliance up and running in the network, as well as a full administrator's guide. The guide included many step-by-step configuration instructions, as well as a few diagrams but very little in the way of screen shots.
Barracuda offers three levels of support to customers. Each offers various options, including phone and email technical support, access to firmware updates and access to dedicated engineers.
At a cost just under $4,000 for the device, plus an annual subscription fee of around $1,100, this appliance may seem a little pricey, but we find it to be an excellent value for the money based on the fact that there are no per-user fees. It is really easy to use, as well as quite scalable for any environment.
