Network Security appliance

The SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSA) series provides organizations that range in scale from mid-sized networks to distributed enterprises and data centers with advanced threat prevention in a highperformance security platform. Utilizing innovative deep learning technologies in the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform, the NSA series delivers the automated real-time breach detection and prevention organizations need.

Benefits:

Cutting-edge threat prevention with superior performance

Today’s network threats are highly evasive and increasingly difficult to identify using traditional methods of detection. Staying ahead of sophisticated attacks requires a more modern approach that heavily leverages security intelligence in the cloud. Without that cloud intelligence, gateway security solutions can’t keep pace with today’s complex threats. NSA series nextgeneration firewalls (NGFWs) integrate two advanced security technologies to deliver cutting-edge threat prevention that keeps your network one step ahead. Enhancing SonicWall’s multi-engine Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service is our patent-pending Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI™) technology. The RTDMI engine proactively detects and blocks mass market, zero-day threats and unknown malware by inspecting directly in memory. Because of the real-time architecture, SonicWall RTDMI technology is precise, minimizes false positives, and identifies and mitigates sophisticated attacks where the malware’s weaponry is exposed for less than 100 nanoseconds. In combination, SonicWall’s patented* single-pass Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI) engine examines every byte of every packet, inspecting both inbound and outbound traffic on the firewall. By leveraging the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform in addition to on-box capabilities including intrusion prevention, anti-malware and web/URL filtering, the NSA series blocks even the most insidious threats at the gateway.

Further, SonicWall firewalls provide complete protection by performing full decryption and inspection of TLS/ SSL and SSH encrypted connections regardless of port or protocol. The firewall looks deep inside every packet (the header and data) searching for protocol non-compliance, threats, zerodays, intrusions, and even defined criteria. The deep packet inspection engine detects and prevents hidden attacks that leverage cryptography, blocks encrypted malware downloads, ceases the spread of infections, and thwarts command and control (C↦C) communications and data exfiltration. Inclusion and exclusion rules allow total control to customize which traffic is subjected to decryption and inspection based on specific organizational compliance and/or legal requirements.

When organizations activate deep packet inspection functions such as IPS, antivirus, anti-spyware, TLS/SSL decryption/inspection and others on their firewalls, network performance often slows down, sometimes dramatically. NSA series firewalls, however, feature a multi-core hardware architecture that utilizes specialized security microprocessors. Combined with our RTDMI and RFDPI engines, this unique design eliminates the performance degradation networks experience with other firewalls.

Network control and flexibility

At the core of the NSA series is SonicOS, SonicWall’s feature-rich operating system. SonicOS provides organizations with the network control and flexibility they require through application intelligence and control, real-time visualization, an intrusion prevention system (IPS) featuring sophisticated anti-evasion technology, high-speed virtual private networking (VPN) and other robust security features.

Using application intelligence and control, network administrators can identify and categorize productive applications from those that are unproductive or potentially dangerous, and control that traffic through powerful applicationlevel policies on both a per-user and a per-group basis (along with schedules and exception lists). Business-critical applications can be prioritized and allocated more bandwidth while nonessential applications are bandwidthlimited. Real-time monitoring and visualization provides a graphical representation of applications, users and bandwidth usage for granular insight into traffic across the network.

For organizations requiring advanced flexibility in their network design, SonicOS offers the tools to segment the network through the use of virtual LANs (VLANs). This enables network administrators to create a virtual LAN interface that allows for network separation into one or more logical groups. Administrators create rules that determine the level of communication with devices on other VLANs.

Built into every NSA series firewall is a wireless access controller that enables organizations to extend the network perimeter securely through the use of wireless technology. Together, SonicWall firewalls and SonicWave 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless access points create a wireless network security solution that combines industry-leading next-generation firewall technology with high-speed wireless for enterprise-class network security and performance across the wireless network.

Easy deployment, setup and ongoing management

Like all SonicWall firewalls, the NSANSA series tightly integrates key security, connectivity and flexibility technologies into a single, comprehensive solution. This includes SonicWave wireless access points and the SonicWall WAN Acceleration (WXA) series, both of which are automatically detected and provisioned by the managing NSA firewall. Consolidating multiple capabilities eliminates the need to purchase and install point products that don’t always work well together. This reduces the effort it takes to deploy the solution into the network and configure it, saving both time and money.

Cloud-based centralized management, reporting, licensing and analytics are handled through the SonicWall Capture Security Center. Administrators are provided with an intuitive dashboard for managing all aspects of the network in real time, including critical security alerts. Together, the simplified deployment and setup along with the ease of management enable organizations to lower their total cost of ownership and realize a high return on investment.

Secure, High-speed Wireless

Combine an NSA series next-generation firewall with a SonicWall SonicWave 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless access point to create a highspeed wireless network security solution. NSA series firewalls and SonicWave access points both feature 2.5 GbE ports that enable multi-gigabit wireless throughput offered in Wave 2 wireless technology. The firewall scans all wireless traffic coming into and going out of the network using deep packet inspection technology and then removes harmful threats such as malware and intrusions, even over encrypted connections. Additional security and control capabilities such as content filtering, application control and intelligence and Capture Advanced Threat Protection can be run on the wireless network to provide added layers of protection.

¹ Testing Methodologies: Maximum performance based on RFC 2544 (for firewall). Actual performance may vary depending on network conditions and activated services. ² Threat Prevention/Gateway AV/Anti-Spyware/IPS throughput measured using industry standard Spirent WebAvalanche HTTP performance test and Ixia test tools. Testing done with multiple flows through multiple port pairs. Threat Prevention throughput measured with Gateway AV, Anti-Spyware, IPS and Application Control enabled. ³ VPN throughput measured using UDP traffic at 1280 byte packet size adhering to RFC 2544. All specifications, features and availability are subject to change. ⁴ For every 125,000 DPI connections reduced, the number of available DPI SSL connections increases by 3,000 except for NSA 9250 and above. ⁵ Active/Active Clustering and Active/Active DPI with State Sync require purchase of Expanded License. ⁶ Performance optimized mode can provide significant increases in performance without major impact to threat prevention efficacy. *Future use. All specifications, features and availability are subject to change.