Stand-alone deployment : As part of a stand-alone deployment, both Security Management Server and Security Gateway are installed on the same platform. In this scenario, Smart Console will be installed or deployed on a separate platform with access to the Security Management Server for creating policies and pushing them to the Security Gateway. Check Point does not recommend this deployment, except for small businesses, because it defeats the whole purpose of their three-tiered architecture.
Distributed deployment : Distributed deployments are most commonly known as Three-Tier architectures, where each component is installed on a separate platform, and such deployments are highly recommended by Check Point. ​The Smart Console is generally installed on Windows so that it can be used easily. Depending on the requirements, Security Management Server can be installed on Windows, Linux, or FreeBSD.
