Advice adding a UTM firewall into the mix (with pics)

Product Discussion Peplink Balance
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Hey all,

I have a question on how best to add and setup a hardware firewall into my existing network setup WITHOUT using drop in mode. My Balance 305 manages all routing/dhcp/vlans etc and i am quite happy to leave that be. I am considering adding a UTM but i don’t want it to manage DHCP/VLANS/AP and after a lot of research i think it’s possible but not 100% clear how to configure the firewall to work within this setup (yet to purchase the firewall, i want to know if its possible first).

Here is my brief visual of my current network topology

current-network.jpg
current-network.jpg654×790 61 KB

This is what i am considering:

proposed-network.jpg
proposed-network.jpg654×900 68.9 KB

  • Cable the balance LAN into the Firewall WAN.
  • Cable the Firewall LAN into the main switch

Is this correct?

Then do i set the firewall NAT off/bridge it? This is where i am getting very fuzzy. (pls help)

I am considering a Sophos firewall or possibly something similar, if it can’t be achieved with sophos.

Thank you for any expertise shared and your precious time
Piers

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Yes your proposed topology is right. You’ll need the Sophos NG in bridge mode:

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Thanks Martin, for replying and confirming.

That video link is very helpful too.

Looking forward to giving it a spin.

All the best!

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