Important note about SSL VPN compatibility for 20.0 MR1 with EoL SFOS versions and UTM9 OS. Learn more in the release notes.

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

Posbis

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



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  • 0

    Hi,

    the hw ISOs are tuned for each hardware type and pickup the model from within the BIOS or boot sector where as the software ISO will run on almost any intel compatible hardware including Sophos SG and XG hardware.

    I am not sure about the licensing issue though, but HW licences are usually for a limited time eg, 1, 2 or 3 years where's the home user is unlimited and has limited functionality as far as endpoint, sandbox and ATP usage.

    There are a number of threads in these forums about how to install the SW ISO on Sophos hardware.

    The SW ISO will use whatever features are part of the CPU if they are enabled in the BIOS. Yes, the SW ISO is not tuned to use the features of the Sophos hardware so will more than likely run slower that is why the home user is recommended to purchase the fastest CPU and use real cores and I don't mean I7s or I9s.

    Ian

    XG115W - v20.0.2 MR-2 - Home

    XG on VM 8 - v21 GA

    If a post solves your question please use the 'Verify Answer' button.

  • 0 in reply to rfcat_vk

    Hi Ian

     

    That's a perfect answer. Let's see how fast the SW Image performs on my Quad Core ATOM Hardware. The WebUI is not the fastest one but it seems to me from other comments that this is by design (or should I say by bad design :-)).

     

    Regards,

    Oliver

  • 0 in reply to Posbis

    Hi Oliver,

    the SW version will work fine on the Atom version, I have an older one which I use for experimentation with, the GUI is extremely slow, but the throughput for my now 50/20 is fine.

    Ian

    XG115W - v20.0.2 MR-2 - Home

    XG on VM 8 - v21 GA

    If a post solves your question please use the 'Verify Answer' button.

  • 0

    Hi Oliver. Can I install the SW version using the Home edition license key? Thanks.

  • +1 in reply to William Chuang

    You haven't said on what hardware, but any intel based platform will work with supported NICs etc.

    Ian

    XG115W - v20.0.2 MR-2 - Home

    XG on VM 8 - v21 GA

    If a post solves your question please use the 'Verify Answer' button.

  • 0 in reply to rfcat_vk

    SW Installer (all virtual installer) is needed for Home installation.

    The serial number of Home is not allowed to used in HW Installer. 

    __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  • 0 in reply to rfcat_vk

    Let's see how it performs :-)

    My internet connection is 1000/100.

    In Firewall-Only mode I can saturate the link up to 960 Mbps. The load on the XG is around 1.7 then

    Regards,

    Oliver

  • +1 in reply to William Chuang

    Hi Will 

    Yes that worked fine...

    Regards,

    Oliver

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