The implementation of intrusion prevention system (IPS) solutions can be a complex process, with multiple factors affecting the overall cost of deployment, maintenance, and upkeep.

These should be considered over the course of the useful life of the solution, and include:

• Acquisition costs for IPS devices and central management system
• Fees paid to the vendor for annual maintenance, support and signature updates
• Labor costs for installation, maintenance and upkeep No two network security products deliver the same security effectiveness or throughput, making precise comparisons extremely difficult.

In order to capture the relative value of devices on the market and facilitate such comparisons, NSS Labs has developed a unique metric to enable value-based comparisons:

• TCO per protected megabit per second.
• Security Effectiveness = Exploit Block Rate x Evasion x Stability & Reliability
• TCO per Protected Megabit per Second = TCO/(Security Effectiveness * NSS-Tested Throughput)

By using total cost of ownership (TCO) instead of purchase price, it is possible to factor in management of the device via labor costs associated with product installation, maintenance, upkeep, and tuning. This metric is used extensively in the following sections to evaluate cost of security, throughput, and 3-year TCO. The benefit from this analysis is that, within a given performance range, it can provide some insight as to whether a product is priced above or below the majority of its competitors. A high price could indicate a premium based upon protection offered, brand recognition, level of customer service, or a price penalty for an underperforming product.