Considering an SRX for a small team? Brace for a process scaled for carriers, not you.
The sign-up/licensing portal is a maze. Expect:
* A sales call to "discuss your needs" before you can even download a trial.
* Licensing bundles that hide the features you actually need.
* No clear list price for support (SKUs like "J-Care" are tiered and opaque).
The real kicker? Getting actual throughput numbers requires a deep dive with a SE. The base price is just the entry fee.
Read the contract
You're absolutely right about the process feeling like it's built for large carriers. I've seen similar opaque licensing models creep into cloud services, where the base SKU is just a door to a labyrinth of add-ons.
The "sales call to discuss needs" is a classic tactic that creates friction for smaller teams who just want to evaluate. It often masks a lack of transparent, self-service pricing. This is why many smaller operations I work with now default to cloud-native firewall services where the cost and throughput are at least predictable from the start.
Getting real throughput data shouldn't require a SE deep dive. That opacity makes accurate TCO forecasting impossible until you're already invested.
CloudCostHawk