High Speed Firewall/Security Appliance?

[Buzz]

With all this high speed internet access nowadays, it seems as though cable/fiber is getting faster than reasonably priced firewalls can process... so, anybody know of a decent internet security appliance that can handle 200Mbs, or more, throughput for under $300? Thanks.
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[ztirffritz]

I think it will be tough to find something of any quality at that price point. You might be able to brew your own using something like Untangle and some high-end hardware though. I've always had good luck with Watchguard equipment. I've found it to be reliable, easy to configure and not terribly expensive. They have pretty good customer service too, or did. Haven't had to use it much recently.

XTM 26 is about twice your price point
http://www.zones.com/site/product/index....=004035019

The XTM 5 is about 3 Xs your budget, but does what you need I think.
http://www.zones.com/site/product/index....=100658760

Untangle sells appliances too, but you can also build your own system and download and install their software for free if you know what you're doing:
http://www.untangle.com/appliances?#appliances-table

[Buzz]

Been using Watchguard (also) and Sonicwall for many years, but until recently, real life throughput hasn't been much of an issue. Now, w/ cable/fiber delivering WAN connectivity well in excess of older school firewall capability, it's time to put the eyeballs on newer school hardware. My gut says (hopes?) that throughput ought to get increased. In the past, I understood having to pay for mass connectivity and tunnels, and to some degree the bigger pipe that went w/ it. With everybody/more people getting bigger pipes, I'm looking for affordable bandwidth for a modest user base. Zyxel has units for about $400, but from what I've gleened, some of their stuff is very good, while some of their similar units not so much; more homework needed. Just not sure what's out there these days, but am looking forward to not being handicapped by current Sonicwall throughput, and hoping to do so at a price point that makes sense... if the crystal ball worked better, we'd know when the throughput per buck ratio was gonna get better.
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[kj4btkljv]

Build a PFSense box, using these three parts:

1) Jetway HBJC200F99-525-B Barebone System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856107095

2) Western Digital Black WD3200BEKX 320GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822236563

3) CORSAIR 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820145228

Then load PFSense onto it:
https://www.pfsense.org/

Here's the hardware sizing guide from their site, with recommendations on CPU, network cards, etc.
https://www.pfsense.org/hardware/

It's really simple, and should handle that connection speed. I'm running this setup at home, and at work. At work we've got a 100/20 service from Comcast Business, and it runs just fine. This software isn't hard to learn, I taught myself over the last 8-10 months, just by poking around and reading their user support forums. I came from DD-WRT on some Linksys and ASUS routers, for some background info.

Jeff