Sophos Firewall Rev. 3 – SG/XG 85–135, completely redesigned
This news should reach everyone who is currently thinking about buying a new XG/SG as quickly as possible. Between the end of February and the beginning of May 2018, Sophos is planning to launch new desktop appliances (Rev. 3). We’ve pulled together all the key information for you in this article.
Which models are affected?
Before we dive into the new features, let’s quickly look at which models we’re actually talking about:
- New: XG 85 Rev. 3 – Previously: XG 85 Rev. 2
- New: XG/SG 105 Rev. 3 – Previously: XG/SG 105 Rev. 2
- New: XG/SG 115 Rev. 3 – Previously: XG/SG 115 Rev. 2
- New: XG/SG 125 Rev. 3 – Previously: XG/SG 125 Rev. 2
- New: XG/SG 135 Rev. 3 – Previously: XG/SG 135 Rev. 2
More performance, new look, additional ports
After the hardware refresh of the SG/XG 210–450 appliances in September 2017, it’s now the turn of the desktop appliances in the SG/XG 85–135 range. While the larger SG/XG 210–450 models mainly received some product care, Revision 3 of the SG/XG 85–135 introduces completely new features with real added value. The new appliances are designed to impress in terms of connectivity, flexibility, reliability and performance, and to deliver a strong competitive advantage over other firewalls in this segment.
The performance improvements compared with Revision 2 are clearly shown in the following table:
New features for the XG 85 through to the SG/XG 135
- CPU upgrade (Intel Atom Apollo Lake) delivers around 20% more performance
- HDMI port instead of VGA
- all (w) models receive the 802.11ac wireless standard
- COM via Micro-USB
- new chassis and packaging design
- new rackmount kits (the old ones no longer fit!)
New features for the SG/XG 105-135 appliances
- 1x SPF port
- connector for a second power supply for failover protection
The SG/XG 125 and 135 models also receive expansion slots for:
- a 3G/4G module
- a module for direct DSL insertion
- a second Wi-Fi module (SG/XG 135w only)
- an optional second Wi‑Fi radio module for the SG/XG 135w improves performance and range and enables simultaneous transmission in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
