Many providers offer different hardware set-ups depending on your performance requirements. The hardware at each level differs in terms of CPU, RAM, disk space and so on. Service providers will usually help you identify the hardware that best fits your environment, based on, for example, traffic volume on the network, or number of connections or users required.

Service providers don't always provide details about their hardware configurations in their SLA. This is because of the rate in which hardware installations can change. Not committing to specifics allows service providers to switch to other hardware when certain units are no longer available or when there are cheaper alternatives, or to upgrade hardware as replacement parts for older units become expensive or obsolete.

However, you should find out which hardware the service provider is installing. This will allow you to ensure that when hardware is changed, you are still getting equivalent or higher performance from the new hardware. It will also give you a better gauge as to whether the hardware will meet your performance requirement and plan for the future. It's also a good idea to negotiate a clause in the contract or SLA to ensure new hardware will have equivalent or higher performance.

Performance considerations

Almost all managed security services require the hardware to support high-performance networks, e.g., fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet. Many service providers state in the SLA the aggregated throughput of hardware provided. Look for terms such as "up to 1Gbit/sec. of aggregated throughput" or "between 500Mbit/sec. and 1Gbit/sec. of throughput."