Carefully consider the choice of whether to buy a ready-to-deploy firewall versus building it yourself. An off-the-shelf firewall that you simply plug in can be an attractive solution. However, an out-of-the-box product will generally cost more than an equivalent do-it-yourself system. In addition, most preconfigured systems are not as flexible or expandable as a custom-built version.

That’s not to say that a do-it-yourself firewall is always the best answer, either. A self-constructed firewall can be less expensive and provide a wider variety of features and options. However, when an in-house, custom firewall experiences a problem, you can usually find little formal technical support beyond a user-community discussion forum.

If you are prepared to fully research and understand a firewall product to install, configure, and manage it yourself, then a do-it-yourself firewall can be a great cost-saving solution. However, if your organization’s IT staff is already stretched and overworked, then home-built solutions will likely cause more problems than these solve.

A prebuilt, off-the-shelf firewall is more likely to work right out the box, requiring only that you plug it in, set the configuration, and connect the network cables. A build-it-yourself firewall may require additional hardware manipulation, installation and configuration of device drivers, hardening of a host OS, and so on. Ask yourself: Is custom-built worth the hassle?

Do not automatically reject either buy or build firewall options before you research and assess the options. You might be surprised at the low cost and feature richness of a boxed product, or be caught off guard by the complexity, instability, or high cost of a do-it-yourself product. Always look for the best firewall solution for your specific needs and current threats.