My main use case for SonicWall NSv is user management and protection.
I use SonicWall NSv for adding users to our network and ensuring that security.
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User management has improved security and visibility but support still needs refinement
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The best features SonicWall NSv offers are its user-friendliness and ease of access.
SonicWall NSv is user-friendly and easy to access due to how it is generally set up.
SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to scale growth without having to constantly reinvent our processes.
SonicWall NSv has helped us scale growth and avoid reinventing processes by providing us with latency visibility, showing us how many people we can add and how we can scale through that capacity.
What needs improvement?
I do not have anything that comes to mind regarding how SonicWall NSv can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SonicWall NSv for probably the last six months to a year, and I have used similar solutions in different companies throughout my career.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv's scalability is scalable and very easy.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support for SonicWall NSv is good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We switched between a couple of products before SonicWall NSv, and I was always more satisfied with SonicWall NSv.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated other options before choosing SonicWall NSv.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others looking into using SonicWall NSv to use it as it is helpful and helps businesses do what they need to do while giving them the protection that they need.
I would rate this product a 7 out of 10.
Improves virtual network protection with advanced traffic inspection and highlights need for more learning resources
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for SonicWall NSv is to secure connectivity between the virtual machines in ESXi and the cloud internet.
SonicWall NSv works for me day-to-day by allowing me to configure DPI that checks packets for malware, exploits, and some ransomware. I have also deployed the Application Control that works on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, which allows limits connectivity to these applications. Additionally, I have deployed cloud-native security that protects the VM containers and workloads, and I have connected a site-to-site VPN, enabling us to connect site users into the virtual machines through the site-to-site VPN.
Regarding my main use case for SonicWall NSv, initially we deployed the physical devices, SonicWall 200 firewalls, and in the physical environment, we were unable to move from cloud to protect this virtual machine. At the end of the day, SonicWall NSv helps us to validate this connectivity between the virtual machines compared to the physical hardware we were using before.
What is most valuable?
The best features SonicWall NSv offers include DPI, which inspects every traffic that comes into the virtual machines, and that is one of the most important features for me. Additionally, it has Advanced Threat Protection, flexibility in applying policies, and VPN and SSL VPN connectivity, which are the major features that I think are very good.
Advanced Threat Protection has made a difference for my environment by providing real-time, memory-deep inspection and a machine learning feature that is able to learn the way these devices behave and analyze them. The cloud delivery threat intelligence spots suspicious behavior in just a few seconds, stopping it before execution, automatically blocking and quarantining files. These features are very important, as well as the machine learning features that evaluate file system changes, help in changing the registry, and prevent network course process behavior. These key advantages are what I have observed in the few years of deployment.
I think the machine learning feature is very important because next-generation firewalls need that feature to help us review the latest trend of attacks, which are becoming more prevalent and smarter. Without the implementation of machine learning, preventing these threats on the network becomes very difficult, so I truly appreciate this feature.
SonicWall NSv has impacted my organization positively as I see a lot of threats being detected and blocked when I review the logs. The infusion of many signatures for the DPI helps me to review all the logs and identify the forms of attacks I am facing on a daily basis, such as more than 500 different brute force attacks trying to guess my admin password to breach the firewall. These logs really assist me in understanding the threats to specific factions of my organization and applying the relevant security policies to secure the entire network.
What needs improvement?
I believe SonicWall NSv is performing well overall, but I think it would be beneficial to have physical versions, such as the hardware of SonicWall NSv, for some environments that may not necessarily need to be connected to the cloud. I also think that there could be free tutorials or courses for engineers to learn more about these new firewall deployments and their use cases. If there are resources, sharing them online would be helpful to master the full capacities of the product.
The few points off I take relate to the understanding that there should always be improvement in every production environment. I believe there may be significant improvements that the application itself needs that I have not recognized or shared, and I trust that your team has the ability to enhance this further to compete better in the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working in my current field for the past 14 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv is stable so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv's scalability is manageable; my environment does not have too many virtual machines, with fewer than 50, and not all powered on at the same time. We are able to upgrade devices and RAM without issues when it comes to how SonicWall NSv performs.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support for SonicWall NSv is top-notch, and I have had positive experiences with their support team. I would rate the customer support a nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been smooth; the support has been on point. Since I started using SonicWall NSv, their support has always been number one, making it easy to route calls to the right agents who support us without delay.
I previously used FortiGate, but I did not switch completely; some sections and departments are still on FortiGate while my virtual environment runs on SonicWall NSv.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have considered several alternatives like FortiGate and Meraki, but I chose SonicWall NSv for the very good user experience, especially with customer support.
We evaluated other options including FortiGate, but what won us over was the sales representative and my past experiences. After assessing their latest features, especially the machine learning that makes work easier, we decided to go for SonicWall NSv instead of FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
I have not performed any specific evaluations on metrics, but I can say that SonicWall NSv makes my work easier compared to other firewalls on my network like FortiGate. Once the configuration is done, I can confidently expect it to work, rather than having to log into the firewall every time to update virus signatures manually. With automatic updates, it saves me work time, but I cannot provide specific numbers for that.
SonicWall NSv is deployed in my organization as a hybrid setup, with some on-premises components and a bit attached to our cloud environment.
My advice for others looking into using SonicWall NSv is that it is very good and designed to make the engineer's work much easier. You need 24/7 support and a solution that provides peace of mind regarding network protection and system security. I would recommend SonicWall NSv, especially since it supports all cloud deployments and easy scaling, even for on-premises setups. It is good for bandwidth and throughput for all hardware devices, and integrating into the cloud is straightforward. There are also flexible payment options, such as pay-as-you-go, which makes SonicWall NSv a great choice for engineers. I would give this product an overall rating of 7 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Has supported cloud deployments with detailed controls and could improve identity integration
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for SonicWall NSv is cloud space, specifically for Azure, AWS, and GCP deployments.
I use SonicWall NSv to secure cloud infrastructure instead of relying on Azure barebone security or AWS security. This allows me to get more granular control with my security settings.
I also use it to protect our private data center. We have customers that utilize it in a similar manner to Azure infrastructure, but within our own environment.
What is most valuable?
SonicWall NSv offers the option for Classic or Policy Mode, which allows me to choose between the two. If I need more granular control, I would prefer to use Policy Mode. If it is a simple configuration with one network that does not require much complexity, then Classic Mode is perfect.
When I use Policy Mode for more granular configurations, I can address situations where that flexibility makes a difference, such as wanting to have one network or one zone over another. I am not limited to the global security service configuration and can have multiple different security policies.
SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization. One specific outcome I have noticed is the low cost of licensing and that it is a trusted security appliance.
The low cost and trusted security have led to measurable benefits such as cost savings, which allow us to invest in other technologies.
What needs improvement?
SonicWall NSv can be improved, particularly in the SAML implementation, which was introduced in 7.2 firmware. I have 7.3, and I am waiting on that first jumbo hotfix from SonicWall. There is a need to continue improving the SAML implementation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SonicWall NSv for about seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
With NSM, the Network Security Manager, SonicWall NSv is quite scalable. You can operate multiple different NSvs under one management plane.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support from SonicWall could see some improvement. With the number of items that SonicWall has going on at the moment, the wait line can be quite intrusive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before choosing SonicWall NSv, I evaluated other options such as FortiGate virtual servers. For our customers, it always comes down to cost, where their budget is, and whether they need to go with FortiGate or SonicWall. Along with the cost, it also factors in how granular they need to utilize it. If they know they need to have BGP, then I might forgo SonicWall.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment. The relevant metric includes the time saved in deployment, especially if you go with Classic Mode over Policy Mode. Not much has changed since the release of Gen 7.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that licensing is fairly simple. I work with account managers at SonicWall, submit quotes with my distribution group, and the process is seamless.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did not purchase SonicWall NSv through the AWS Marketplace. I bring my own license.
What other advice do I have?
Integration is something worth discussing.
SonicWall NSv integrates well with my existing systems. I have a built-in syslog system called ForVideo, and I can ingest all logs from SonicWall NSv appliance that I may not be able to get from a FortiGate.
My advice to others looking into using SonicWall NSv is that if deploying SonicWall NSv, I would really consider using Policy Mode over Classic Mode. I know it is quite a change going to that mode, but if you have to change to Policy Mode in the future, then you are looking at redeploying SonicWall NSv. If you deploy it from the start, you have that scalability to continue to grow.
I would rate this product a seven out of ten.
Much preferred dealing with WatchGuard Firewalls
What do you like best about the product?
Liked the VPN, the Content Filtering. The Anti-Malware feature is great.
What do you dislike about the product?
I wish the logging feature of this firewall was bit more robust.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
SonicWall has been a part of our corporate Firewall strategy and we used them to compare to our existing Firewall partners.
SonicWALL Review from Drew
What do you like best about the product?
They provide readily-available security products, which are fairly easy to configure and manage
What do you dislike about the product?
Device management can be tricky if you aren't a network engineer
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Providing our clients with a secure gateway in/out of their network.
Review of SonicWALL
What do you like best about the product?
They have decent firewalls and their user interface is fairly easy to navigate
What do you dislike about the product?
Some of the advanced features are difficult to find and configure
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It allows us to secure our client's network, both inbound and outbound.
I have seen issues with SonicWall related to unfriendly UI. But rest is cool
What do you like best about the product?
It works really well, I have seen customers using it on enterprise network for their gateway and firewall needs.
What do you dislike about the product?
While working with some of the customers, I found the GUI not so friendly.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Security, network gateway.
Not a bad unit but could be better
What do you like best about the product?
It does have a really good range of configurable options and there is a wide range of models to suit various markets. The larger units are certainly something that you could use in a large data centre.
What do you dislike about the product?
The web interface is very dated, only one admin can be logged in at a time ( 6th gen and below) . The web content filtering is not granular enough for education customers. Application control is also an on or off setting you cannot have different settings for different groups.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
As a general firewall/router, it is OK, but I found it was unable to handle large volumes of deep packet inspection, which is required in most schools nowadays.
SonicWall Review
What do you like best about the product?
Secure access to your office workstation
What do you dislike about the product?
cost of implementation, but if its not something you are worried about then this software is great!
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Secured access to Office workstation remotely.
Scoic wall firewall
What do you like best about the product?
User interface and other features i like the most.
What do you dislike about the product?
Nothing i dislike about sonic wall however support can be improved
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
we have used sonic wall for solving network issues and other network related problems.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
its a good product in industry
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