Arista NG Firewall vs Suricata

Arista NG Firewall is network security software for managing and protecting traffic in hybrid deployments. Its software packages list firewall, intrusion prevention, web filtering, VPN, reporting and other apps. Listed VPN options include IPsec VPN, OpenVPN, Tunnel VPN and WireGuard VPN, and SSL Inspector is a featured capability. NG Firewall Complete provides control and visibility into network traffic and events. The free package offers basic security and connectivity, but limits Virus Blocker, Application Control, Spam Blocker and Reports, and does not provide centralized management for policies, alerts, reports or Networks. ETM Dashboard centrally manages network appliances and can deploy hardware appliances remotely. Other listed capabilities include configuration backup, directory integration, application rules, network discovery, policy automation, and wired and wireless access control. NG Firewall Complete is listed at $270 for a 12-month term, with licensed-device choices from 12 through unlimited. Monthly billing is available as a licensed-term option; annual billing advertises 10% savings, and the three-year option advertises 20% savings. A free plan and 30-day trial are listed.

Suricata is a free, open-source engine for network analysis, intrusion detection and prevention, and security monitoring. It uses signature rules to match known threats, policy violations, and malicious behavior, and can also detect traffic anomalies. A single instance can inspect multi-gigabit traffic using multi-threading and hardware acceleration. It logs HTTP requests, DNS queries and responses, TLS certificate and exchange data, and can extract files from network flows. Suricata automatically detects protocols such as HTTP on any port and applies relevant detection and logging. Its EVE output provides JSON event and alert data for Logstash and similar tools. The Open Information Security Foundation owns the code and supports the project. Suricata is licensed under GPLv2; OISF offers non-GPL licensing for organizations that want to use it in their products. Listed platforms include Linux, macOS, and Windows; downloads also include source for FreeBSD and UNIX and a Windows 64-bit installer. The listed stable release is 8.0.7, released September 15, 2026. Community support is available through a forum and Discord.