CacheGuard-OS vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

CacheGuard-OS turns an x86 or x64 machine into a Linux network appliance for securing and optimizing network traffic. Its combined functions include firewalling, IPsec VPN, web application security, content caching, antivirus inspection and traffic shaping. Install it on bare metal or as a virtual machine, including VMware, Hyper-V and Proxmox. Administrators can configure an appliance through a CLI or browser-based Web GUI; a Manager can centrally manage multiple Gateways. The firewall uses stateful packet filtering, NAT and PAT, and the maker says it blocks common attacks such as DoS, SYN flood and IP spoofing by default. URL filtering supports lists and regular expressions, with LDAP or AD/Kerberos authentication. The WAF offers generic and custom filters, IP reputation lists and antivirus scanning. WAN tools include HTTP compression and multi-WAN routing with automatic failover. The OS is free to use. Optional subscriptions cover URL blacklists and extended antivirus signatures; Standard and Premium support also require paid subscriptions.

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall provides network security and SD-WAN connectivity for enterprise networks spanning physical, virtual, and cloud systems. Its Secure Management Center centralizes policy management, log analysis, monitoring, and reporting. Protection features include deep packet inspection, anti-evasion defenses, intrusion prevention, vulnerability exploit detection, and DoS/DDoS protection. Clustering supports active-active or active-standby arrangements with up to 16 nodes, and updates can be applied without interrupting service. Listed cloud infrastructure includes Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google, Oracle, and IBM. Virtual appliances support x86 64-bit systems, VMware ESXi and NSX, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, and Nutanix AHV. Integrations include SASE/SSE, CASB, and Web Security; remote access supports the Forcepoint VPN client for Windows, Android, and Mac OS, as well as standard IPsec clients. URL filtering requires a separate subscription, and local anti-malware scanning is unavailable on 110/115 appliances. Pricing is on request, and there is no free plan.