Interfaces: 7 x 1GbE RJ45 data ports, 1 x 1GbE RJ45 out-of-band management port, 1 x RJ45 console port, 2 x USB ports, 64 GB eMMC storage
Form Factor: Desktop (fanless, silent design)
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Official datasheet throughput of 1.4 Gbps firewall and 0.8 Gbps threat prevention at 17 W average power; Fanless, silent desktop design suited to branch offices and small sites; Full PAN-OS feature set with App-ID, User-ID, and ML-powered threat prevention; Centralized management through Panorama and Strata Cloud Manager; Seven data ports cover typical small-office WAN, LAN, and DMZ layouts
✘ Cons:Throughput is low for modern multi-gigabit internet links, and threat prevention drops to 0.8 Gbps; Data ports are 1GbE only with no SFP or 2.5GbE options; No built-in Wi-Fi, PoE, or cellular, so extra hardware is needed for those; Pricing is quote-only from Palo Alto Networks, and third-party listings vary widely; Subscription licenses for Threat Prevention, URL Filtering, and support add recurring cost
✔ 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