PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE
Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE
★ 3.2 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 7.5 Gbps (AppMix, reseller listings; not confirmed in official Palo Alto docs)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 5.0 Gbps (reseller listings)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 4.5 Gbps (reseller listings)
  • Max Sessions: 448,000 concurrent (reseller listings)
  • New Sessions/sec: 75,000 (reseller listings)
  • Interfaces: 8x 10/100/1GbE RJ-45 (ports 1-8, ports 5-8 PoE); 4x 1/2.5GbE mGig RJ-45 (ports 9-12, PoE); 2x 1GbE SFP (ports 13-14); 2x 1GbE/10GbE SFP+ (ports 15-16); 1x 1GbE management RJ-45; console (RJ-45 + USB-C)
  • PoE Budget: Up to 332 W per connected device on ports 5-12; no aggregate system PoE budget published
  • Form Factor: Desktop, PA-500 Series (not stated in official component docs; verify before relying on it)
  • Max Power Consumption: 503 W

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Firewall throughput of 7.5 Gbps (AppMix) and 5.0 Gbps threat prevention, well above the 2 Gbps in the current catalog row; Eight PoE ports (5-12) delivering up to 332 W per device, which removes the need for external injectors for APs and cameras; Mixed uplink options with 1/2.5GbE mGig copper plus 1GbE and 10GbE SFP/SFP+ ports; 448,000 max sessions and 75,000 new sessions/sec for busy branch or mid-market networks; Full PAN-OS next-generation firewall feature set, including App-ID and threat prevention
  • ✘ Cons: No aggregate PoE budget is published, so total power for many PoE devices is unclear; Throughput and session figures come from reseller listings rather than an official Palo Alto datasheet; Maximum power draw of 503 W requires a 550 W adapter and adequate power and cooling; Requires PAN-OS 12.1.2 or later, which may complicate upgrades in existing deployments; Street price of roughly $9,400-$10,400 is high for a desktop unit, and stock is limited (Newegg listing out of stock)
  • Est. Price: $9,387 - $10,430

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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