Network Security, Firewalls, and VPNs, 3rd Edition

The Difference Between Buying and Building a Firewall

Carefully consider the choice of whether to buy a ready-to-deploy firewall versus building it yourself. An off-the-shelf firewall that you simply plug in can be an attractive solution. However, an out-of-the-box product will generally cost more than an equivalent do-it-yourself system. In addition, most preconfigured systems are not as flexible or expandable as a custom-built version.

That’s not to say that a do-it-yourself firewall is always the best answer, either. A self-constructed firewall can be less expensive and provide a wider variety of features and options. However, when an in-house, custom firewall experiences a problem, you can usually find little formal technical support beyond ...