PerfectMail M2200 vs. MailFrontier m500 Comparative Analysis

The PerfectMail M2200 appliance was selected for comparison with the MailFrontier m500 appliance because the two products provide nearly identical hardware platforms.

Summary

• Is much lower in cost than the MailFrontier m500
• Offers better accuracy than the MailFrontier m500
• Uses enterprise class SATA disks and accelerated RAID controllers where the MailFrontier m500 uses consumer disks and non-accelerated RAID
• Has no preset limits on the number of users or domains you can protect
• Works with any mail server

The MailFrontier m500

• Has more options for 3^rd party antivirus solutions
• Provides slightly better antivirus protection
• Only works with Microsoft Exchange™ and Lotus Notes™

Detailed Comparison

Price & Limitations

Category	PerfectMail M2200		MailFrontier m500		Comments
Base price with one year Maintenance		$8,775		$35,000¹	The PerfectMail M2200 sells for about 20% of the m500.
Messages Per Hour		no preset limit		under 50,000 per hour	Appliances are approximately equal in hardware configuration. Filter speed will depend on the efficiency of the underlying operating system and filter software. Both have more than sufficient power to handle a 1,000 user organization.
Number of Supported Users		unlimited		under 5,000	The PerfectMail M2200 does not impose user limitations so there is more room for growth.
Number of Supported Domains		unlimited		?	The PerfectMail M2200 lets you protect as many domains as you like at no additional charge.
Antivirus Engine		ClamAV w. Hourly updates		MailFrontier Time-Zero Virus Technology	Timely antivirus updates ensure accurate virus protection. MailFrontier offers a slightly reduced window of vulnerability.
Additional Antivirus Protection		tbd		McAfee	MailFrontier lets you add 3rd party antivirus software onto the m500. Third party AV including McAfee and Kaspersky AV is available for extra cost.
Antispam Engine		PerfectMail		MailFrontier	Both companies have full control over their antispam technology.

Accuracy & Consistency

Category	PerfectMail M2200		MailFrontier m500		Comments
Filter Accuracy		>99.9%		>97%	Higher accuracy means less time wasted handling spam.
Consistency		Guaranteed delivery of e-mails from discovered peers		-	PerfectMail learns your e-mail peers and ensure that their e-mail is handled correctly
False Positives		<1 in 100,000		<0.25%	PerfectMail is less likely to reject a legitimate e-mail.

Appliance Comparison

Category	PerfectMail M2200		MailFrontier m500		Comments
Processor		Pentium 4 - 3.0ghz		Pentium 4 - 3.0ghz	Faster processors complete mail filtering tasks more quickly.
Memory		1GB DDR2		1GB	DDR2 memory provides faster RAM access
Storage		72GB 10,000 rpm		80gb 7200rpm	The PerfectMail M2200's disks are 33% faster than the MailFrontier m500.
Hot Swap Disks		yes		no	Hot swap disks let you replace a failed drive without powering down the appliance.
RAID Level		RAID-1		RAID-1	RAID-1 provides protection from a single disk failure
Hardware RAID		yes		?	Hardware RAID-1 provides better protection with lower host CPU overhead
NIC		2x 100/1000mb		1x 100 or 1x1000mb	Faster NICs mean lower network latency
Chassis Format		1U Rackmount with sliding rails		1U Rackmount	Low profile appliances conserve space on your server rack
Operating System		Hardened Linux		Hardened Windows 2003 Server	There is no way we are going to get into the who is more secure - Linux or Windows argument! However, by not paying royalties to Microsoft, we can sell our appliances at a lower price.

Installation & Configuration

Category	PerfectMail M2200		MailFrontier m500		Comments
Quick Set Up		30 minutes or less		about an hour	Both products are fast and easy to set up.
Administrator Interface		Web		Web	Installation and configuration is accomplished through a simple web based interface
User Software		None Needed		Agents for OutLook™, OutLook Express™ and Lotus Notes™	No agents means less work for administrators
Mail Server Compatibility		All		Exchange & Lotus Notes	PerfectMail works with any SMTP compliant mail server.

Notes:

We used information in the IT Week a product review of the MailFrontier m500 published in June 2005. Click here to read the review.