PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Palo Alto Networks PA-445-W
Palo Alto Networks PA-445-W
★ 3.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 2.7 Gbps
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 1.25 Gbps
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 1.1 Gbps
  • Max Sessions: 200,000
  • New Sessions/sec: 34,000
  • Interfaces: 1 x 1G SFP/RJ45 combo, 4 x 1G RJ45, 4 x 1G RJ45 PoE (ports 6-9); 1 x 1G SFP/RJ45 combo management port, 1 x RJ45 console, 1 x Micro USB console, 2 x USB
  • Form Factor: 1U desktop/rack, 13 x 8.88 x 1.66 in, 8.69 lb

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: 2.7 Gbps firewall throughput and 200,000 max sessions for a compact 1U branch device; 34,000 new sessions/sec; Four PoE ports (6-9) with a 91W total PoE budget (60W per port) for powering access points or cameras; Runs full PAN-OS with App-ID, User-ID and Threat Prevention; 128 GB eMMC storage; Dedicated management port and virtual systems (1 base / 2 max)
  • ✘ Cons: Threat Prevention throughput of only 1.25 Gbps limits inspected traffic at higher speeds; IPsec VPN throughput of 1.1 Gbps is modest for site-to-site scaling; All interfaces are 1GbE with no 2.5G or 10G uplink; Average draw of 140W with a full PoE load needs an external AC adapter; No PA-445-W or Wi-Fi variant found in Palo Alto's documentation; Premium pricing versus similar-throughput competitors
  • Est. Price: $2,200 - $2,910

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

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