Firewall issues are important to deal with right away because of the critical nature of this security device. These devices determine what traffic is allowed in or out of a network and are primary in preventing unauthorized access. One question we get is why support is no longer available for a particular model. As with all things in technology, there is a finite life cycle for firewalls. Typically security devices like firewalls are supported for many years and there is usually a very orderly process to ending support.
In some cases, manufacturers have developed newer and better products and it would be cost prohibitive for them to continue support of everything in the past. In other cases, market needs have shifted and certain products are no longer the best fit. In most cases, there can be last time buys and support tends to phase out. Initially, products are no longer marketed, next companies may stop supporting firmware upgrades and eventually there is no more support. SonicWALL's product lifecycle follows the pattern mentioned above.
This is why it is critical to have a regular review of IT infrastructure with a multi-year plan for deployment, support and retirement of equipment. The worst thing that can happen is to have a failure with no budget in place and no ability to support outdated installed equipment. Our experience is that such planning can save at least 10% on the overall IT capital investment plan. Further, as discussed in What Is Antivirus Software - How Does It Improve Profitabilty?, security infrastructure can have a significant impact on the bottom line.
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