Astaro Security Gateway

 

Product Information

Vendor:Astaro
Price:From c£825

Product Rating

Features star star star star star
Ease of Use star star star star star
Performance star star star star star
Documentation star star star star star
Support star star star star star
Value for Money star star star star
Overall Rating star star star star star
For:A lot of features and an intuitive web interface
Against:Options raise the price a bit
Verdict:A solid product and good value, especially given the rich feature set and ease of deployment

Related Group Test

Astaro Security Gateway provides a comprehensive set of protection features. It attacks threats on three main fronts that include network, mail and web security. It includes a firewall, IPS, anti-malware scanning at the gateway, web content filtering, VPN, SSL remote access, email encryption and IM/P2P filtering.

We found this product to be quite simple to deploy and configure. The initial deployment is done by connecting the appliance to the network and then using a network-connected computer to access the web-based admin console.

At first login the administrator sets the host name and admin passwords and then the main dashboard can be accessed. We found the dashboard and web GUI to be easy to use. The initial setup is guided by a wizard from the web GUI that guides through steps to get a basic configuration up and running.

After the initial setup was complete, we found it quite easy to move around the interface and fine-tune settings and perform advanced configuration. We also found the main dashboard to provide an excellent overview of what services were running, off, or needed configuration.

Documentation included a quick-start guide and a full PDF administrator guide. The quick-start guide provided the steps necessary to get the product connected to the network and get access to the web console. The administrator guide included all of the rest of the setup and configuration information, including advance configuration. Both of the guides had clear step-by-step instructions, screenshots, examples and diagrams.

Astaro offers free access to a support knowledgebase and a user forum. Phone and other support options can be purchased as part of an agreement. Phone options include both 12/5 and 24/7 assistance, depending on the support plan. There are also other resources available on the website, such as how-to videos that users can access at no cost.

At a price starting at c£825 and moving up to about c£2,030 fully loaded, we find Astaro Security Gateway to be good value for the money. It offers a lot of features in an easy to use and easy to manage appliance.

 
 
 

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