Sophos Firewall Appliances: Supported hardware for SFOS v18+
Sophos has published a list of hardware models which will be able to run SFOS v18.0 and SFOS v18.5 in the future. Check here to see if your hardware will be compatible.
2020 will be the clean up year
The still new year has started with two new End of Sale announcements.
- The AP series of Sophos access points will no longer be sold after 31 March 2020.
- Sophos Central Wireless licenses for AP15, AP55 and AP100 will also no longer be sold after 31 March 2020.
- Since August 2019, the Sophos XG 85(w) and XG 105(w) are also no longer sold due to poor performance.
Of course, Sophos has a successor for each of these devices, but depending on how many devices you have, you need to budget accordingly. That’s why we’re now looking a bit into the future, as older Firewall models will no longer support the new firmware from SFOS.
SFOS Hardware Support
v18
In order to use the new release SFOS v18.0 you will need an SG or XG Firewall with at least 4GB of RAM. All other models are supported.
Yeah, you read it right. The SG models can also be installed with the “new” Sophos Firewall OS. In the KB post Install Sophos XG Firewall OS on a SG Appliance we explain how this works. If you need help, our support team will be happy to help you.
It is especially annoying, as mentioned, for SG/XG customers with an 85 or 105 model of revision 3. These desktop models have been completely revised in April 2018 and two years later they can no longer have the latest OS from SFOS.
If you run the Firewall virtually, you get a free upgrade from 1CPU 2GB RAM to 1CPU 4GB RAM.
v18.5+
But if we now look further into the future, there is a bigger cut of old hardware. It is essential to have the latest hardware version. With the rack models, the cycle is a bit longer than with the desktop models. If you now have the latest version, which is released in Septembeer 2017, you are also on the safe side with SFOS 18.5. On all older models this release cannot be installed anymore and one remains with the firmware or the state of functionality.
Compatibility table
Sophos XG Appliances
Sophos SG Appliances with SFOS
Do I need to buy new hardware?
As I said, it’s just a preview so you know what upcoming firmware releases could mean for your hardware. This is not immediately a reason to buy new hardware. The hardware will continue to work and get security updates, but it will not get any new features. Sure, new features often bring more security, but that’s something you have to decide for yourself. From my point of view new is always better.
If you want to switch to current hardware, you get the new Firewall at half price for renewing a 1-year, 2-year or 3-year license (FullGuard, FullGuard Plus, EnterpriseGuard or EnterpriseGuard Plus). Owners of an XG 85 or XG 105 will need to purchase at least a 2-year license to take advantage of this deal. This promotion is only applicable in the DACH region and can be used until 30.09.2020!
Incidentally, the end of March is also the end of Sophos’s financial year. Last September, new hardware was already announced. This will definitely not be available until the end of March. The promo empties the warehouses and brings in more sales. I don’t think the new hardware will be here in April, as it was two years ago, but we can definitely expect new hardware in 2020.
FAQ
- When will version 18.5 be released? According to the current status as of the 18th February 2020, version 18.0 is still in beta and should be released in the next few weeks. So if Sophos is fast, v18.5 will not be released until late 2020 at the earliest. Anything else would surprise me very much.
- Which revision of the hardware do I have? Check the serial number of the appliance on this page to find out what revision you have: Check your hardware revision