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 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

Popular Comparisons

Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE vs Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE vs Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE vs Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Max Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE vs Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max) Palo Alto Networks PA-555-POE vs Ubiquiti Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG)