Home license on XGS hardware - did anyone get this running?

Hi Oliver,

Thank you for reaching out to Sophos Community.

For XGS, this would not be possible even if you replaced the SSD.

• "Note: For XGS hardware, this won’t install/run/work, even with replacing the SSD"

You may refer to the following KB:  Sophos Firewall Home 

I've also verified this with our Internal team.

"It's possible to use a home license for SW ISO – the customer could install SW ISO on any hardware (including SG and XG – but not on XGS)."

Hi Oliver,

Thank you for reaching out to Sophos Community.

For XGS, this would not be possible even if you replaced the SSD.

• "Note: For XGS hardware, this won’t install/run/work, even with replacing the SSD"

You may refer to the following KB:  Sophos Firewall Home 

I've also verified this with our Internal team.

"It's possible to use a home license for SW ISO – the customer could install SW ISO on any hardware (including SG and XG – but not on XGS)."

Hi Erick Jan,

thanks for clearing this up. 

As a conclusion: XGS hardware is not meant to be used in home / non-prod / lab environments unless you are willing to pay for the subscription modules. 
You may use base firewall functionality free of charge, though. 

Cheers, 

Oliver

May you ask them about an upcoming available XGS home license ? Which would be great in order to reduce the recycling footprint and allows students to practice on your hardwares ?

The idea of getting a license available for home usage is still valid and useful.

SFOS Home is meant to be used for in Home Networks and for people who want to do it for there own networks on their own hardware. 
As you could buy hardware like SG/XG Hardware, which are technically server hardware, you could use them to install a bare metal installation. 
XGS Hardware is more specialized hardware and was never be designed to use in home networks or to reinstall SFOS home on it. 

In times of virtualization, most IT professionals have something to virtualize hardware on there devices. Proxmox, Hyper-V and other platforms are on there rise to get more performance out of one appliance. 

For example, there are great guides, how to virtualize the network protection for the home network: https://youtu.be/7pvgKc3WdEg 

I can only hope for a release supporting XGS hardware. But only Sophos knows if and when this will be available in the future. 

Until then I still have a lightning fast hardware firewall with base functionality and a proper VPN. 
The more sophisticated features like SD-WAN, traffic shaping etc. are not really in my focus yet, although I hoped for offloading client malware detection. That would have been nice, as AV-scan always consumes lots of CPU on my clients. 

Cheers,

Oliver

Yes I am hoping as well,

Actually the only thing that I wish to have access to, is the IPS function that I wish to manage with my current SIEM. And as well setting some external lists of threat intelligence, and automating it to a certain extent.

As personal use cases and experiments, I find it useful, so if anyone in Sophos can get it up on higher instances, would be great for all of the home users, and for the environment as well.

Cheers !

Hi Erick

Would it be possible to get a version of the SW ISO made to be compatible with the Home License for the XGS Hardware in the future when v21 drops for example, with the EOL of the XG Hardware coming soon and the XGS Hardware already having been around for some time the hardware starting to filter down to Homelab Users, I have been asked countless time on Youtube and other platforms why you cant use a XGS and it would help drive uptick in terms of recognition of Sophos Firewall over PFSense/OPNsense for people getting to grips with a it, Not asking for top priority but it would put some good press Sophos way also instead of just having to let good XGS units get WEEE binned because you can even use them in a lab or for home use

JimtheITguy - Influx Solutions

Just wondering, why would people throw away a XGS appliance? 
XG hardware will go EOL, but an XGS Hardware can be reused by a Partner or other use cases like a Partner can get an NFR License for the XGS Hardware. 

When time goes by hardware gets old and it simply doesn't get used anymore in a corporate environment. For now the earliest XGS devices might not be "that old", but they will get to this point. XGS hardware reaching 3 years old might be replaced by some companies and this hardware is not very likely to be bought back by partners but it may find its way to home users (if only it were usable).

Plenty of near new appliances end up on ebay when companies fold, kit gets gathered by clearance companies, some companies may change firewalls out ever few years to a different solutions, there are a few XGS appliances on ebay now.....must resist buying....it would be good for the homelab community if these devices could be leveraged instead of having to get the nonames from aliexpress or the older SG/XG units

This would be a feature request, I guess. As home users do not have the possibility to file a feature request, and you (JimtheITguy) happen to be a Sophos Silver Partner, maybe you can do so? If you have actually access to this channel, that is. 

Cheers,

Oliver