What is our primary use case?
My main use case for IPFire is usually for security, functioning as a firewall for organizations that run public-facing applications. I will give you a typical example: there is an agency of the federal government that is saddled with the responsibility of managing ecological funds. They have an internet-facing application that the public and contractors need to constantly feed with information. Because of the critical or mission-critical nature of the application, they needed a very much secured platform. IPFire is what I use for security deployment and for firewall for this kind of mission-critical applications.
What is most valuable?
The best features IPFire offers include its very intuitive nature because, even though it has a Linux back-end, in terms of configuration, it has a very rich GUI interface.
The GUI and configuration features of IPFire have made my work easier and more efficient because their positioning and the sequence with which I follow is easy. In terms of all the processes, what you need to do at first and the next thing that you need to do is clear. The GUI is well arranged in sequential order, so you can follow that from whatever you want to do until you get the target objective.
IPFire includes features with a very robust and rich community that is very much valid in terms of content.
IPFire has positively impacted my organization by giving us some mileage. At least, a lot of organizations now know that we have a solution that can deliver the same value.
What needs improvement?
IPFire can be improved, but so far, there are no functionalities that have not been able to meet my needs. I wish IPFire could do more, but so far, I am happy with the solution. If there are other things that they can add, that would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IPFire for about three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
IPFire is very stable. In most of the places where I have deployed IPFire, it has been very stable. Most times the issues are not really IPFire itself, but maybe the network challenges with the customer, such as their internet failing or the server going down.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found IPFire's scalability very easy to scale and adapt as my needs grow. Since customers have different requirements, there are those who want just baseline filtering. Some other ones want much more complicated capabilities, and I find IPFire able to adapt to the requirements of our customers.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support for IPFire has been good. There were a few times that customers have called. We support customers via phone because when we deploy, we do not just deploy and leave the site. We train the customers to be able to offer at least level one and level two support to themselves. If it goes beyond level one, most times they escalate to us. We can offer phone support, and in some times, they give us remote access to their network from where we can do further troubleshooting and offer help.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used a different solution before IPFire, which was the firewall that comes with our Linux. Whether we are using CentOS or Red Hat or Ubuntu, this operating system has inbuilt firewall capabilities such as the IP tables. We had to do a lot of configurations and hard coding with command-line interface instructions that we had to work extensively with because what we want to do is to save costs for our customers and retain them, and by doing so, grow our customer base. With IPFire, it becomes quite easier for us with the GUI. We can just implement solutions very easily.
How was the initial setup?
IPFire has positively impacted my organization by giving us some mileage. At least, a lot of organizations now know that we have a solution that can deliver the same value.
Regarding IPFire's AI capabilities, I think they are quite focused. In all the deployments I have done, I have not had any incidents or breaches. I think they are thorough and they have done a very good job. In terms of the capability, it is excellent. They are favorably competing with proprietary security or firewall solutions in the market.
IPFire's governance is well-secured. I think they are taking good care of the governance component of the solution.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment since using IPFire, as for us, it is cost-saving. Because we are essentially a company that is extremely focused on Linux-based solutions, one of the first things we do with our new hires is we train them on the various Linux platforms. Deploying IPFire becomes quite easy for them. We do not have to spend so much money training people on deploying this solution. It is cost-savings for us, and our employees do not have difficulties mastering the solution. Virtually all of us in the technical team are very much conversant with the deployment of IPFire. We leverage on our Linux background and of course, the GUI capabilities of IPFire makes this very simple. Therefore, it is cost-saving for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with IPFire's pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been affordable and straightforward. There was no challenge at all. The licensing regime is excellent.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing IPFire, I evaluated other options such as Cisco and Sophos. These are for our kind of customers, however, they are quite expensive for them.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate IPFire 8 out of 10 because I do not think there is any solution anywhere in the world that is 100 percent efficient. In elementary physics, we are told that no machine can be 100 percent efficient. I am reserving 8 out of 10 because I have benefited extensively from it. At the same time, I know there are room for improvement and further development. I do not want to give it 10 with the assumption that it is a perfect solution yet. IPFire is an excellent solution and I think 8 out of 10 is a good score.
My advice for others who are considering using IPFire is that I would ask them what is their major challenge. Is cost an issue in terms of security? Do they have the skill set to manage the solution after deployment? Because you would not want to rely 100 percent on your vendor or your solution provider to support that kind of environment. Are they ready to build capacity and train? If cost or budget is an issue, I will recommend IPFire as a solution because it is stable. The willingness for the organization or the customer to consider building capacity for their staff is going to be another important consideration. They also need to consider that they want a solution that is friendly but quality is not reduced.
My review rating for IPFire is 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
