Implementing a firewall for the enterprise is not as simple as buying the right hardware and software and plugging it in.

A firewall is a significant infrastructure investment that requires detailed research and planning to ensure that you don’t break the budget.

Our download, “Example of costs for software-based firewall,” includes a spreadsheet designed to make your work easier. Created by Bill Sintiris, an IT manager for Newmarket International in Portsmouth, NH, this download will help you estimate deployment and support costs. Those costs include:

  • Hardware and software costs.
  • Failover hardware and software costs.
  • Software updates and patches.
  • Firewall support.
  • Firewall updates and administration.
  • Usage reporting and monitoring.

Questions, questions, and more questions
While the download will help you organize your research and reach a decision, you’ll also need to ask vendors some tough questions to help you separate hype from reality.

In addition to the download, Sintiris has outlined the types of questions you should be asking in “Questions to ask when estimating hardware and software costs for firewalls.”

While the questions you ask may differ due to your particular circumstances, these sample questions can put you on the right track:

  • Will you need different encryption cards for dial-up users or remote offices?
  • How will you authenticate individual VPN users?
  • Will you be implementing an intrusion detection system?
  • Will the vendor fully license a failover firewall?

Sintiris says that you may be surprised by some of the answers you will get when you ask these questions. To help you make a decision, Sintiris has developed this spreadsheet as a download.

Download this spreadsheet to help estimate firewall costs.

Download our spreadsheet “Example of costs for software-based firewall” to make sure you don’t forget anything when planning your firewall project. Let us know what you think by joining the discussion below or by sending us a note.