PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Cisco Secure Firewall 3120
Cisco Secure Firewall 3120
★ 3.4 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 22 Gbps stateful (ASA image); 21 Gbps FW+AVC (FTD image); 17 Gbps stateful multiprotocol (ASA)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 21 Gbps NGIPS (1024B)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 10 Gbps (1024B TCP / 450B UDP L2L); projected 13.5 Gbps with VPN offload (FTD 7.2), 15.4 Gbps with VPN offload (ASA 9.18)
  • Max Sessions: 4,000,000 concurrent connections
  • New Sessions/sec: 170,000 (FTD, with AVC); 500,000 (ASA)
  • Interfaces: 8x 1GBASE-T RJ-45 + 8x 1/10G SFP+ (integrated); up to 24 total Ethernet ports with network modules; 1x 1/10G SFP management port; max 7,000 VPN peers
  • Form Factor: 1RU rack-mount; 1.75 x 17 x 20 in; single 400W AC PSU (dual optional)

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Up to 22 Gbps stateful firewall throughput in a compact 1RU chassis; 4 million concurrent sessions and 170,000 new connections/sec for high-density traffic; Supports both ASA and FTD (Threat Defense) software images for deployment flexibility; Integrated 8x 1GbE copper and 8x 10G SFP+ ports with expansion modules for up to 24 ports; Hardware VPN offload raises IPsec throughput to 13.5-15.4 Gbps and supports up to 7,000 VPN peers; Redundant power supply option available
  • ✘ Cons: Only about 21 Gbps threat-prevention throughput, which is modest for full inspection on high-speed links; IPsec VPN throughput without offload is only 10 Gbps; Limited to 10G maximum port speed with no 25G/40G/100G options; Pricing is high relative to newer-generation platforms, and no official Cisco list price is published; Cisco has announced end-of-sale timelines for the 3100 series, so buyers should check lifecycle status before purchase; Ports are not PoE and the device has no built-in Wi-Fi or switching features
  • Est. Price: $36,493 - $65,325

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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