SonicWALL TZ300 firewall – good features, good wireless, equals GREAT value

The SonicWALL TZ300 firewall offers an all-in-one solution. It protects networks from advanced attacks brilliantly. Unlike consumer grade products, the SonicWALL TZ300 combines high-speed intrusion prevention, anti-malware and content/URL filtering. In addition, it has broad secure mobile access support for laptops, smartphones and tablets along with optional integrated 802.11ac wireless.

Wireless management

This is a feature worth talking about a little. The TZ300 supports the SonicPoint 802.11ac access points for seamless wireless network provisioning and management. The TZ300 has predefined wireless profiles for both radios, which yo can easily modify to suit, and when you connect the access point, it is identified and automatically had the correct profile.

All access points are placed in a dedicated WLAN zone, which allows you to swiftly apply policies such as web filtering, IPS and gateway antivirus. Moreover, provisioning guest access is pain-free. That’s because the WLAN zone has options for client isolation and redirecting users to an external website for authentication. This wireless management is enabled as standard, allowing the TZ300 to handle up to eight SonicPoint APs. The TZ300 even offers optional 802.3at PoE+ to power PoE-enabled devices.

Targeting small offices of 25 users or fewer, the Sonicwall TZ300 firewall is great value. And, with the TotalSecure subscription, The TZ300 delivers round-the-clock support, IPS, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware and a content-filtering service.

The SonicWALL TZ300 is roughly comparable to the Check Point 1530. It has IPS throughput of 300 Mbps. In addition, the SonicWall TZ300 pushes 235 Mbps of Threat Prevention throughput. It also boasts 750 Mbps of Firewall Inspection throughput, and 235 Mbps of Anti-malware Inspection throughput. It delivers 300 Mbps of IPSec VPN throughput, and has 10 site-to-site VPN tunnels.

Set up

Installation takes maybe five minutes. The the web console’s quick-start wizard set up the first LAN port, as well as the WAN port for internet access. And it applied a base security policy to the default zone. This feature makes the TZ300 very versatile. You could place selected ports in different zones and quickly apply a single security policy to all members.

And once it’s configured, the SonicWALL TZ300 keeps itself updated with the latest threat signatures. This means that small to medium-sized businesses can have a single device protecting their networks, without having to worry about updating software on every client. If the wireless 802.11ac radio is activated, then that protection can also extend to anyone using the wireless network. SonicWall offers great security for those who don’t always sit at an office desk.

Features of the SonicWALL TZ300

The SonicWALL TZ300 firewall offers anti-malware, anti-spyware, and intrusion prevention. Plus, you get anti-spam and protection against incoming email threats if you’re set up for it.

And, if you work remotely, you’re covered too. First, remote users can set up a secure VPN tunnel back into the home network. Each TZ300 can support 20 site-to-site VPN connections simultaneously.

Plus, users can also employ the optional SonicWall Anti-Spam Desktop. Basically, this is an Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail plug-in. It provides remote users with protection similar that of those working in the office behind a TZ300 firewall. It works with any Microsoft Windows–based client. The program detects phishing emails, spam, and malicious attachments, so they never make it into the client’s mailbox.

Lastly, there’s the Enforced Client Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Software. It guards both remote users and the core network by enforcing security on every client connecting to a network. It works with any SonicWall firewall, including the TZ300, and detects whether clients are running the latest versions of anti-virus and anti-spyware. And if not, the TZ300 will force them to install or update it. Not until then does the SonicWALL TZ300 firewall grant network access.

And more features

One of the best things about SonicWall is that you can add modules, or features, as needed. It’s an a la carte approach that’s great for small to medium-sized businesses. In other words, businesses that may not need to pay for full-on enterprise level security. Nevertheless, it’s quite easy to add the modules in when you decide to.

SonicWall’s cloud-management and sandboxing is a cool feature worth mentioning. When any of the myriad SonicWall devices linked together in the cloud discovers an unknown malware, guess what it does? Shares it with every other SonicWall. So that unknown malware becomes famous to every SonicWall appliance everywhere that’s using the SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection module.

And a big benefit of cloud-based sandboxing is that it’s not limited to one engine. SonicWall uses several of them, so it’s nearly impossible to create malware that could trick all of them. SMB’s don’t generally assume they can afford this level of layered protection. But it’s nice to know it’s here. The price and power of the SonicWall TZ300 puts iin the entry-to-middle of the SMB range. And with its modular feature set, it is hugely scalable. We’d love to tell you more about the SonicWall TZ300. So, why not call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458, or reach out at [email protected]? Thanks for reading!

SonicWall TZ300 highlights

Firewall Inspection Throughput: 750 Mbps
Anti-malware Throughput: 235 Mbps
IPS throughput: 300 Mbps
Threat Prevention Throughput: 235 Mbps