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SonicWall NSA Series

Score8.5 out of 10

43 Reviews and Ratings

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What is SonicWall NSA Series?

The SonicWall NSA Series is the company's mid-range next generation firewall (NGFW).

Categories & Use Cases

Key Features

Learn about the best (and worst!) features SonicWall NSA Series has to offer, as determined by TrustRadius' reviewers.
Based on 43 ratings of SonicWall NSA Series's features
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Top Performing Features

  • Policy-based Controls

    Firewall policy controls enable administrators to create firewall policies controlling what data is allowed to traverse the firewall

    Category average: 8.9

  • VPN

    VPN's implement encryption and anonymize IP addresses

    Category average: 9.1

  • High Availability

    Built-in capacity to prevent exposure if primary firewall stops working

    Category average: 9.2

Areas for Improvement

  • Proxy Server

    A proxy server changes your IP address and masks the origin of your network traffic

    Category average: 8.5

  • Active Directory and LDAP

    Integration with Active Directory and LDAP directories

    Category average: 8.5

  • Content Inspection

    Inspecting permitted application traffic by means of threat prevention, URL filtering and data filtering

    Category average: 8.6

Reviews

What users are saying about SonicWall NSA Series.
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SonicWall NSA Series is worth considering

Incentivized
Verified User
Employee in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have 2 SonicWall NSA Series firewall appliances. They are our primary firewalls for our network and serve as the perimeter of our network. These firewalls serve as one part of our cybersecurity layer. We use these appliances like any typical firewall appliance gets used. These firewalls allow a few select people to be able to access internal network resources from outside of the network. The High Availability capability ensures that our network maintains an Internet connection if one appliance ever goes down. We use IPS, VPN, and more features.

Pros

  • They are reliable.
  • The High Availability feature works well and ensures redundancy.
  • It allows you to do all the basic tasks on a firewall well.
  • New firmware releases are painless.

Cons

  • Sometimes, their support staff can have thick accents, which makes them hard to understand.

Return on Investment

  • It is a firewall appliance at an affordable price compared to other firewall vendors.
  • It is reliable and thus, allows our business to operate without any hiccups.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

SonicWall NSA Series firewall excellence

Incentivized
Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

This is a high end business-class firewall, built to handle volume while still delivering top tier protection for the organization. We have licensing for AV, anti-botnet, and secure browsing protection as well as VPN access. We use rule sets for direct connections and also filter based on Geo-IP settings. It is a multi-faceted and highly adaptable firewall.

Pros

  • Filtering
  • Site-scanning protection
  • DoS protection

Cons

  • DPI scanning
  • Sometimes a bit strict with site filtering
  • Updates sometimes fix 5 things and break something else.

Return on Investment

  • The protection is top notch.
  • The HA (high availability) feature is a life-saver if you have 2 circuits/ISPs.
  • SonicWall support is very good.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

WatchGuard XTM - Discontinued Product

Other Software Used

Cisco Routers, Dell Unity XT Unified Storage, Splashtop

SonicWall NSA is a great well rounded security appliance

Incentivized
Geoff Johnson
Network System Administrator in Information Technology at Merrimack School District (501-1000 employees employees)

Pros

  • VPN
  • Content filtering
  • IPS
  • Anti-malware

Cons

  • Dynamic content filtering
  • Built-in LetsEncrypt SSL feature
  • Logging

Return on Investment

  • Improved uptime
  • Minimizing malware risks
  • Minimizing virus risks

Alternatives Considered

Fortinet FortiGate

Other Software Used

GoGuardian Admin, PRTG Network Monitor

Solid security for SMB

Incentivized
Verified User
Director in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use it to secure our data center network. We use the VPN to build a connection to our office as well as the Azure cloud.

Pros

  • Firewall
  • VPN
  • DLP

Cons

  • Configuration can be cumbersome if you aren't familiar with the SonicWall OS. There are a lot of steps to do common tasks.
  • The LDAP integration isn't very stable and drops connectivity to the LDAP servers.
  • AV scanning.

Return on Investment

  • Was affordable, allowing for advanced routing and security.
  • Enabled us to build VPNs without purchasing additional services
  • Was simple enough to manage in house without external support.

Other Software Used

Azure App Service, Coro Cybersecurity, Microsoft 365

SonicWall NSA is an enterprise firewall worth trusting!

Incentivized
Kenny McGarrity
IT Infrastructure Manager in Information Technology at Pace Supply (1001-5000 employees employees)

Pros

  • Relatively inexpensive compared to some of the higher-end products, like Palo Alto Networks.
  • Easy to set up, as the SonicWall NSA interface is consistent across all models.

Cons

  • The logging interface is voluminous and difficult to get quick and good information from.
  • SonicWall NSA is trying to mimic Palo Alto Network's investigative features but falls far behind.

Return on Investment

  • Easy purchase for each branch we spin up.
  • Quick deployment time which doesn't require an outside vendor to install.

Alternatives Considered

WatchGuard Network Security, Check Point 12000 Appliances and Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series