HW-18.0.0_GA-Build321-321.iso vs. SW-18.0.0_GA-Build321-321.iso

Hi all

I Googled a lot about Sophos XG Software ISO versus HW ISO and I got a lot of references to this community forum. But still I couldn't find a proper answer.

Maybe I entered the wrong search terms :-)

Can anybody demystify the topic about SW versus HW ?

Example

• HW-18.0.0_GA-Build321-321.iso
• SW-18.0.0_GA-Build321-321.iso

Question 1: Does the HW Image really only run on Sophos Genuine Hardware ? I heard that it looks up the serial number from within the hardware and cannot accept a Home Edition Serial Number. Is that true ? Or can the HW Image be installed on any commodity hardware such as https://www.pondesk.com/product/Intel-Atom-E3845-4-LAN-AESNI-3G4G-Fanless-Firewall-Router_MNHO-048 

Question 2: If only SW Image can run on Non-Sophos Hardware, is the SW Image able to use the AES-NI instruction set from the CPU ? I mean is the SW Image slower than the HW Image on comparable devices/appliances ?

Any shed of lights would help to demystify this HW vs. SW topic.

Regards,

Oliver