Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN comparison

Barracuda Networks and Riverbed are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0, while Riverbed is ranked #25. Barracuda Networks holds a 1.8% mindshare in SDW, compared to Riverbed’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Cato Networks and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

August 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.9%, down from 21.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is 1.8%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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RobertSmith15

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

Ensures data security with advanced intrusion prevention and 24/7 monitoring

I rate the initial setup as ten out of ten. It is straightforward to set up a CloudGen file, taking a couple of hours. Once we have the configuration agreed with the customer, the setup and onboarding are completed within a few hours. We receive the box from Barracuda or from our stores, pre-stage it into our network for initial configuration and Soak testing to ensure functionality. The customer can install it at their location, or we do it on their behalf. We run the firewall in simulation mode to observe traffic and ensure service transition is effective. After confirming functionality with the customer, we transition to a live service.

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Jason Best

Data center network architect at Cloudwire

Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use

It's like an SD-WAN project basically. You really need to make sure that the product matches the needs of what the customer's trying to achieve and their overall strategy to meet their core business requirements. I think a certain customer made a mistake in choosing this solution because a large part of their network was Cisco and they had firewalls that were from Fortinet. I think they would have been better off and it would have been better from a CAPEX, OPEX point of view. It would've been more advantageous for them to have maybe chosen a Cisco or Fortinet solution based on their existing environment. Make sure you understand your network correctly before you try to implement any SD-WAN solution. That was one of the good lessons I learned about SD-WANs with this specific product. I wouldn't say it was a fault of the product. I would say it's more a fault of the CTO who tries to do things quickly without taking into account the existing environment or give the internal faculties the time to provide real low-level design implementation. It was more of a management mistake than from their technical team. In the next release, I would like to see things like integrated security but with local internet breakout instead of using third party solutions like NetScaler or Palo Alto. I would also like to see the integration of things like a VPN so that if you have remote sites where you might have remote workers that need to access the site from home or something, there's a VPN solution. Those are two key features and hotspots in the sort of global crisis. I would rate Riverbed a seven out of ten. I could never give any solution a 10 cause they all have good and bad points. To get any solution to a ten is pretty much impossible. If I was to rate it against others like Fortinet, I would probably give Fortinet an eight or nine. Again, I think you have to be careful because it's very subjective. I think it really depends on the type of environment, the type of customer you're deploying the SD-WAN solution for, and from which perspective you're looking at like if you an operator, if you're a large enterprise, if you're looking for a plug and play type solution. If you're looking for more of a security solution, I would go for Fortinet. It's kind of tough to say. I'd probably put the clouds a little bit ahead of the game because it does what it's supposed to do and easily. It's a little more of a plug and play type solution. Fortinet, for example, is more complex. I put it in a close second place, it's better from a security perspective. It has integration with FortiGuard. After that, I would put Riverbed in third place.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The CLI is robust and powerful, enabling rapid, consistent changes via SSH."

"The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration."

"I would recommend using Fortinet FortiGate because of its usability."

"It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."

"It's an easy solution to set up."

"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."

"It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a very good next-generation firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Most people are using enterprise applications remotely, and there is no license for SSL VPN, or in other words point-to-site. There is no limit on that. On other devices there is a specific limit and you have to pay per use for SSL VPN."

"The ability to be deployed and supported remotely is valuable."

"I think Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is one of the most advanced firewall platforms. I also like that it's easy to get top-level support right away. You get that security, and if you make a mistake, it doesn't break."

"The interface is very user-friendly and it is quite easy to use."

"Their GPS possibilities and the security that it has, especially the SD-WAN functionality, is very good."

"Since implementing the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we've seen significant benefits, particularly in stopping a lot of unnecessary or dangerous emails. One key feature we value is the ability to train the solution with emails categorized as threats, giving it a learning capacity."

"Single sign-on is also good. If you are accessing your corporate firewall from your home, during that time there is integration with AD. You can use your AD password to access your SSL VPN. It's not like if you buy an additional SSL VPN... You can directly integrate with your AD. If you change your password on the AD side, your client-to-VPN password also gets changed. You can integrate all your passwords from a single console. It's not like admin has to change your password, it's a single sign-on."

"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to offer firewall support to our clients."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pros

"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."

Cons

"Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements. They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security."

"Fortinet FortiGate is not a scalable solution, as they give you a number and each box comes with concurrent connections; if you need to expand, you have to change the box."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"Application management can be improved."

"The issue lies with features available in GUI versus CLI during configuration. When using GUI, I want to accomplish everything there, but sometimes it requires using CLI to ensure proper configuration."

"To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."

"It would be good if they had fewer updates."

"Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"While using Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, we encounter issues with VPN profiles for Windows."

"When you login from some sources, there is no feature in this box which can log you out after a certain timeout."

"I would like to see the connection improved."

"It's a little bit complex in terms of handling. If you implement a change, there is a specific point where you have to commit it. It's not like you just push a button and it's always committed. If you don't know to check whether your commit command has been executed or not... that is something Barracuda needs to work on."

"The usability for the administrator's experience needs improvement. My system administrator has some questions about its overall connectivity and flexibility."

"The price is a bit higher than other vendors."

"They have a very complicated interface. It's very hard to learn."

"If you have another brand of VPN where you have to put an SSL VPN between two devices, Barracuda doesn't support that at a certain point. You can't actually build the VPN between Barracuda and a different device of a different brand."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall cons

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If the price of the license in Fortinet FortiGate was less expensive it would be better."

"It's expensive, but compared to the competition it's okay."

"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."

"The price is okay."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The 600 series is about USD $10,000 a year and the 80 is USD $400 a year."

"We evaluated a lot of different options. We concluded that Barracuda NG Firewall provided the most features for an exemplary price. "

"Purchasing through AWS Marketplace was good. We did it because it was easy."

"Pricing is good. Licensing is pretty much automatic if using Control Center."

"Pricing and licensing are fine. It's worth the value because every four years, if I buy any other product, I have to replace my hardware. But with Barracuda I get a free hardware upgrade. Today I'm using Xbox. After four years I can take another Xbox or a Ybox."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There is an upfront purchase price, and there is also an annual maintenance fee. There are no additional fees."

"We pay around 150 to 200 Euros per year and there are no additional costs."

"When the corporation purchases something, it follows a request-for-proposal process and the best price wins. So, I think Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is reasonably priced, though I’m not sure of the exact amount"

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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What do you like most about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The encryption and the security standards are valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be ...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Competitors

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

August 2025

Download Barracuda CloudGen Firewall product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

August 2025

SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN report

Download SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls

SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is a comprehensive network security solution that provides advanced protection for organizations of all sizes. It offers next-generation firewall capabilities, including application control, intrusion prevention, and web filtering.

With its integrated VPN functionality, it ensures secure remote access for employees. CloudGen Firewall also includes advanced threat intelligence, leveraging real-time updates to detect and block emerging threats. Its centralized management console simplifies administration and provides visibility into network traffic.

CloudGen Firewall can easily adapt to changing business needs based on its scalable architecture.

Barracuda Networks

Accelerate business velocity with enterprise-class SD-WAN. As enterprises and organizations adopt more cloud and SaaS applications to support an increasingly distributed workforce, the hybrid networks connecting it all have been more complex, less predictable and less secure.

Riverbed SteelConnect EX is a powerful enterprise SD-WAN solution that integrates best-in-class routing, application acceleration, network visibility, and security services – a flexible and complete WAN Edge platform that gives you what you need to modernize your network and propel your business in the digital age.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia

Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

August 2025

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