PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Aruba (HPE) Aruba 9004 Gateway
Aruba (HPE) Aruba 9004 Gateway
★ 3.5 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 4 Gbps
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 1.1 Gbps
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 4 Gbps
  • Max Sessions: 128,000
  • New Sessions/sec: 30,000
  • Interfaces: 4x 10/100/1000BASE-T (RJ-45), 1x USB 3.0
  • Form Factor: Desktop (Fanless)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: High stateful firewall and IPsec performance (4 Gbps) in a silent, fanless desktop form factor. Highly versatile; can function as an SD-WAN gateway, stateful firewall, or wireless controller. Includes integrated IoT radios (Bluetooth 5 and Zigbee) for asset tracking and smart building applications.
  • ✘ Cons: Limited port density with only 4 physical Ethernet interfaces. Lack of Power over Ethernet (PoE) support requires external injectors or switches for powering APs/phones. Advanced security features and SD-WAN orchestration require recurring Aruba Central subscription licenses.
  • Est. Price: $1,200 - $1,900

Compare Against

Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max)
Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max)
★ 4.6 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 10 Gbps (Routing)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 5 Gbps (IDS/IPS)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 800 Mbps
  • Max Sessions: 2,000+ Concurrent Clients
  • New Sessions/sec: Not Disclosed
  • Interfaces: (1) 10G SFP+ WAN, (1) 2.5 GbE RJ45 WAN, (1) 10G SFP+ LAN, (8) 1 GbE RJ45 LAN
  • Form Factor: 1U Rackmount

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: High-performance 5 Gbps IDS/IPS throughput; Dual 3.5" HDD bays with RAID support for NVR; Shadow Mode for High Availability redundancy; Integrated 128 GB SSD for NVR metadata and system; 10G SFP+ and 2.5GbE WAN flexibility.
  • ✘ Cons: Integrated 8-port switch lacks PoE support; No multi-gigabit RJ45 LAN ports; Locked into the UniFi ecosystem; Potential fan noise under high thermal loads.
  • Est. Price: $599 - $649

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