PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Secure Firewall 1220 (1220CX)
Cisco Secure Firewall 1220 (1220CX)
★ 3.2 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 15 Gbps (ASA stateful inspection, 1500B UDP); 12 Gbps (ASA multiprotocol)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 9.0 Gbps (FW + AVC + IPS, 1024B packets); 9.0 Gbps (NGIPS); 1.5 Gbps (TLS decryption)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 10 Gbps (Threat Defense, 1024B TCP w/ Fastpath); 12 Gbps (ASA, 450B UDP L2L)
  • Max Sessions: 300K concurrent sessions (with AVC); 300K concurrent firewall connections (ASA)
  • New Sessions/sec: 50K connections/sec (with AVC, Threat Defense); 250K connections/sec (ASA)
  • Interfaces: 2x 10GbE SFP+ (1/10 Gbps); 8x 1000BASE-T (RJ-45); 1x management 1000BASE-T; console (USB Type-C and RJ-45); 1x USB 3.0 Type A
  • Form Factor: Desktop/compact appliance (not rack units); optional rack or wall mount kits (CSF1200C-RACK-MNT=, CSF1200C-WALL-MNT=)
  • Max VPN Peers: 300
  • Max Virtual Routers (VRF): 10 (Threat Defense only)
  • Storage: Integrated 480GB SSD
  • Power: Single external AC supply, 100-240V AC, 50-60 Hz, 40W max (confirm for 1220CX), no PoE
  • Cooling: Integrated blower, side exhaust
  • Weight: 3.09 lb (1.40 kg)
  • Operating Temperature: 32 to 104u00b0F (0 to 40u00b0C)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Compact desktop form factor suits branch offices and small sites; 15 Gbps stateful firewall throughput and 300K concurrent sessions for its class; 2x 10GbE SFP+ uplinks plus 8x 1GbE copper ports; runs either ASA or Threat Defense software, so migration paths exist for existing ASA estates; supports up to 300 VPN peers and 10 VRFs (Threat Defense); integrated 480GB SSD and optional rack or wall mounting
  • ✘ Cons: Threat prevention throughput drops to 9 Gbps with IPS enabled, well below the 15 Gbps headline firewall figure; TLS decryption is only 1.5 Gbps, a significant limit for encrypted-traffic inspection; only two 10GbE ports, so it is not suited to high-speed aggregation; no PoE; performance figures are lab-measured and vary with features enabled and traffic mix; requires separate Cisco subscription licensing for threat features; retail pricing is widely dispersed across retailers and the official Cisco list price could not be confirmed
  • Est. Price: $3,299 - $4,562

Compare Against

Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max)
Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max)
★ 4.9 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti in the sources reviewed
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 2.3 Gbps IDS/IPS per Ubiquiti spec page (older listings show 1.5 Gbps)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti; third-party reviews report about 800-1,000 Mbps for WireGuard and 300-400 Mbps for OpenVPN
  • Max Sessions: Not published in the sources reviewed
  • New Sessions/sec: Not published in the sources reviewed
  • Interfaces: 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN, 4x GbE RJ45 LAN (one LAN port can be reconfigured as a second WAN for multi-WAN)
  • Form Factor: Compact desktop; UCG-Max-NS variant includes 512GB NVMe storage

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Low entry price at $199 MSRP; Compact desktop form factor; Five-port layout with multi-WAN support via a reconfigurable LAN port; Runs UniFi OS with integrated IDS/IPS, site-to-site and remote VPN options (IPsec, WireGuard, OpenVPN, L2TP); Manages 30+ UniFi devices and 300+ clients per Ubiquiti listing
  • ✘ Cons: Routing and IPS throughput (2.3 Gbps) is modest for multi-gigabit WANs with inspection enabled; Published throughput figures conflict across sources (1.5 vs 2.3 Gbps IPS, varying VPN numbers); Only one 2.5GbE port, with the remaining ports at 1GbE; Vendor does not publish IPsec tunnel, session, or new-connection limits; Some resellers list prices well above MSRP (one US listing at $394.79)
  • Est. Price: $199 - $279

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