Content

Top Layer IPS 5500-150E v 5.12

The Top Layer IPS offers good protection features. This productincludes what Top Layer calls Three Dimensional Protection. This deviceuses the IPS for protection against malicious content, a firewall thatuses stateful packet filtering, and protection from denial of serviceand other rate-based attacks. This product is capable of handling awide range of threats, including worms, viruses, spyware, P2Papplications, file-based remote exploits, trojans, DDoS and exploits ofMicrosoft vulnerabilities.

We found this product simple to use. Deployment takes just a fewminutes and the device is almost completely set-up out of the box. TheJava-based webGUI is clean and well organized with an intuitivenavigation structure. We found setting policy to be simple andstraightforward as well. Just a few quick clicks of the mouse and theappliance was up and running.

This device performed very well throughout our testing. We foundthat the simplicity of setting the policy and configuring the rule setreally helped in keeping the protected devices safe. Once we configuredthe policy this box kept all attacks from getting through.

This product comes with excellent documentation. The quick startcard states, "IPS protection in less than 30 minutes." We found this tobe exactly the case. The steps are well organized and the set-upprocedure is easy to follow. Also provided is the configuration andmanagement guide. This guide gives considerable detail on tweakingsettings, advanced configuration and setting up logging and reporting.This guide is well written and easy to read and contains manyscreenshots and topology diagrams.

Top Layer does have a few support resources on their website —including an FAQ section, as well as white papers and case studies —but most of their support is offered via contracts. Support offered viacontract includes many features, but most important are updates and24x7 tech and emergency phone support.

At a price of roughly $35,000 this product sits on the higher end ofthe scale for IPS. However, this device or several devices can also beused with the Top Layer SecureCommand Center, which can manage manyother security devices all in one place using the Top Layer NetworkSecurity Analyzer. This device provides a lot of protection andflexibility for a good price.

SC Magazine has awarded IPS 5500-150E v 5.12 its Best Buy.

Product title
Top Layer IPS 5500-150E v 5.12
Product info
Name: IPS 5500-150E v 5.12 Description: Price: starting at $35,000
Strength
Easy to manage, mostly configured out of the box, updates event displays in near real time.
Weakness
Slightly high price for the feature set.
Verdict
A solid product with all the features you need. For its features, ease of use and performace, we award Top Layer our Best Buy.

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