PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Palo Alto Networks PA-415
Palo Alto Networks PA-415
★ 3.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 1.3 Gbps (App-ID/appmix, PAN-OS 11 datasheet; some older datasheets list 1.5 Gbps)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 600 Mbps (appmix, PAN-OS 11 datasheet; some older datasheets list 800 Mbps)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 650 Mbps (reseller listings; unverified against vendor datasheet)
  • Max Sessions: 64,000
  • New Sessions/sec: 11,000 (reseller listings; unverified against vendor datasheet)
  • Interfaces: 8x 1GbE RJ-45 (verify against vendor datasheet; existing catalog lists 5x)
  • Form Factor: Desktop, fanless

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Compact fanless desktop form factor suited to branch offices and small sites; Full Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS feature set including App-ID, User-ID, and Threat Prevention; Centralized management through Panorama and Strata Cloud Manager; Lower entry price than most Palo Alto Networks platforms; Available in a 5G cellular WAN variant (PA-415-5G) for backup connectivity
  • ✘ Cons: Low firewall and Threat Prevention throughput compared with larger PA-400 Series and PA-1400 Series models; Threat Prevention throughput of about 600 Mbps is a bottleneck for sites above roughly 500 Mbps of inspected traffic; IPsec VPN throughput of about 650 Mbps limits site-to-site tunnel capacity; Requires active Threat Prevention, URL, and support subscriptions for full protection, which add recurring cost; Published performance figures differ across datasheet versions and resellers, so verify against the current official datasheet before sizing
  • Est. Price: $1,425 - $2,004

Compare Against

Ubiquiti Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG)
Ubiquiti Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG)
★ 4.9 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 23.5 Gbps (routing, iPerf3, DHCP WAN)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 12.5 Gbps (IDS/IPS)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 580 Mbps (site-to-site, single tunnel)
  • Max Sessions: 1,000,000 concurrent
  • New Sessions/sec: 71,000 (listed under general capacity; not specific to VPN or IPsec)
  • Interfaces: 2x 2.5GbE RJ45, 2x 25G SFP28, 2x 10G SFP+ (some listings show 2x RJ45 + 4x SFP28; verify against the Ubiquiti datasheet)
  • Form Factor: 1U rack-mount, dual hot-swappable PSUs
  • SSL/TLS Inspection Concurrent Sessions: 10,000 (5,000 recommended under heavy traffic)
  • CPU / Memory: 18-core ARM v8.2 @ 2 GHz, 16 GB DDR4
  • UniFi Capacity: 500+ UniFi devices, 5,000+ clients

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: 25G SFP28 and 10G SFP+ uplinks at a gateway price point; 23.5 Gbps routing throughput; 1 million concurrent sessions; 18-core ARM CPU with 16 GB RAM; hot-swappable redundant PSUs; supports 500+ UniFi devices and 5,000+ clients; manages through UniFi Network controller with a single pane of glass
  • ✘ Cons: IPsec VPN throughput of 580 Mbps is low for a gateway at this price; IDS/IPS throughput of 12.5 Gbps halves routing performance when threat inspection is enabled; SSL/TLS inspection is limited to about 10,000 concurrent sessions; port configuration differs across listings and should be verified; frequently out of stock at major US retailers, with a $170 memory surcharge at some resellers; no built-in Wi-Fi, so it depends on separate UniFi APs and switches; reviewers cite a steeper learning curve than consumer-grade routers
  • Est. Price: $1,999 - $2,892

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