My main use case for SonicWall NSv is protecting digital assets for our organizations or customer organizations, which includes protecting East-West traffic and deploying site-to-site VPNs and secure remote access.
External reviews
145 reviews
from
and
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Improved network performance and reduced costs while maintaining high reliability
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The best features SonicWall NSv offers include reassembly and deep packet inspection, which is a great feature that provides low latency of network streams.
Reassembly and low latency have benefited our organization by providing the bandwidth or hardware capabilities for our organization at a great cost. Having a great firewall with low cost is beneficial for many organizations.
SonicWall NSv positively impacts my organization by providing firewall capabilities as a virtual firewall while offering the capabilities of a physical firewall with great performance and reliability.
What needs improvement?
SonicWall NSv can be improved by enhancing threat intelligence to rely on great threat intelligence that provides customers with updated IOCs and security incidents around the world.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SonicWall NSv for about three 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?
SonicWall NSv's scalability is great.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is great compared to other vendors.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I do not depend on a different solution; I am depending on SonicWall NSv.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment that includes money saved, time saved, and fewer employees needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been that it is low cost, and the licensing model from SonicWall NSv is great.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing SonicWall NSv, I evaluated Fortinet as another option.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for others looking into using SonicWall NSv is to consider its reliability, scalability, and the fact that you can have a great firewall at a low cost. I have rated this product a 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 secure partner connectivity across cloud environments with consistent performance
What is our primary use case?
SonicWall NSv is primarily used in cloud environments like Azure and AWS for partner connectivity. A specific example of how I use SonicWall NSv for partner connectivity in Azure or AWS involves working with a customer who has an Azure tenant with a Zscaler app connector installed. The customer wants to connect to their partner, so we build a site-to-site VPN to the partner from Azure SonicWall NSv and then build a tunnel. This is the main use case, and we definitely add some security rules as well.
What is most valuable?
SonicWall NSv offers several best features, including security profiles such as IPS protection and malware protection, as well as ease of use. The ease of use with SonicWall NSv is primarily due to the GUI look and feel, which is very user-friendly. This stands out because I work on many firewall products.
SonicWall NSv is more stable and less of a headache compared to Palo Alto because we did not have any issues. I can compare it to other vendors, and when we made some upgrades with another vendor, the policy that was applied was not really there. With another firewall vendor, the logs were not really showing. I did not face these kinds of issues with SonicWall NSv.
There is a feature called Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection in SonicWall NSv, which is basically ATP sandboxing by detecting and blocking zero-day threats. This is a good feature. I would say it is not a unique feature, but one of the best features that is available.
What needs improvement?
Regarding needed improvements for SonicWall NSv, if not in terms of features, then in terms of support, I think from the L1 level, if there were better skilled resources available right from L1, it would make the service better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SonicWall NSv for two to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SonicWall NSv was selected by our customer and was already in place, so I would not say that it has affected anything positively. However, I would say that SonicWall NSv has been stable and we did not have any headache or any bad experience with SonicWall NSv compared to other products, such as Palo Alto, because we had a tough time handling Palo Alto. SonicWall NSv is really stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I believe SonicWall NSv's scalability is good. On a scale of 10, I would rate it 7 or 8.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate customer support for SonicWall NSv as 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
SonicWall NSv was not purchased through the AWS marketplace because it was purchased by our customer, and we are managing it. I believe it was purchased through the marketplace itself. I did not look for a different solution for this purpose, but I have worked on Palo Alto, Cisco Firepower, and others. SonicWall NSv was provided by the customer, so I did not have any option to choose.
What was our ROI?
I do not have any metrics available regarding return on investment. I would say it was a stable infrastructure.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I do not get involved in the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for SonicWall NSv, as it was handled by the customer directly. In a general discussion, what I understand is that SonicWall NSv was a bit expensive for the subscription.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate SonicWall NSv as an 8 out of 10. I chose an eight out of 10 for SonicWall NSv because there are some improvements to be done in the support, and I think the subscription is slightly expensive. These are the reasons why I gave 8 and why I did not give 10. My advice to others looking into using SonicWall NSv is that if you really need a stable solution, SonicWall NSv is better, but you should look at the cost. I do not recall other improvements SonicWall NSv needs at this time. My overall review rating for SonicWall NSv is 8.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
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.
Excellent Advanced Threat Protection and Low Latency
What do you like best about the product?
Advanced threat protection
Inspection of encrypted traffic
low latency
Strong visibility
Inspection of encrypted traffic
low latency
Strong visibility
What do you dislike about the product?
firewall bugs and stability issue
patching issues
patching issues
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
SonicWall’s Deep Packet Inspection and Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI) block ransomware, phishing, and zero-day malware — even when it’s hidden in encrypted SSL/TLS traffic.
This drastically reduces infection risks, downtime, and potential data breaches.
This drastically reduces infection risks, downtime, and potential data breaches.
An excellent inbound firewall
What do you like best about the product?
Its ease of setup and security
What do you dislike about the product?
Your licensing renewal costs
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Network problems and cyber threats, your security helps us stay protected.
we are using sonicwall from last 18 years
What do you like best about the product?
we are using sonicwall from last 18 years, never face any major problem..
What do you dislike about the product?
nothing found any problem in Sonicwall firewall
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
content filter policy & SSL VPN for clooud
Product Configuration
What do you like best about the product?
It has been product user friendly Interface .
What do you dislike about the product?
DPI-SSL is painful, manually certification installation
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
external threat,fishing ,malware
Provides strong security with potential for detailed reporting improvements
What is our primary use case?
Within our organization's cloud security setup, SonicWall NSv is used repeatedly, and they are not encountering many challenges to deploy it.
It is used for security, specifically as a firewall.
What is most valuable?
The features of SonicWall NSv that are most effective in enhancing the network include the Application Firewall, which provides enhanced security to the client.
SonicWall NSv handles network threats effectively, and I have noticed improvements with new advanced features such as sandboxing; we are very impressed with it.
The sandboxing feature is very interesting, and we are looking forward to developments in AI-driven security initiatives.
What needs improvement?
Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products.
For how long have I used the solution?
My overall experience with SonicWall NSv has been since 2008 or 2009.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
It takes no more than a few hours to deploy, as we have local support here, so we do not have to log any cases for other challenges.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have a very confident feeling about its stability.
It rates around eight to nine in terms of stability, and it is quite good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I do not need much support in SonicWall NSv for scalability.
It is a scalable product.
On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate its scalability as eight to nine.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the responsiveness of the technical support from SonicWall as 9 to 10.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What about the implementation team?
There are two support engineers involved in the installation as of now.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the price is a little bit higher.
The pricing could be improved, and there are extra expenses. For instance, the Global VPN will be chargeable in our product, unlike Fortinet or Sophos, where it is free—this is a major difference.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend SonicWall NSv to other organizations for obvious reasons.
My overall rating for SonicWall NSv is nine.
Bandwidth allocation empowers high-end users and offers good threat management
What is our primary use case?
The solution is predominantly for gateway-level protection. There are multiple filters now. In the past, these devices were used for extensive filtering regarding phishing, security, and data protection. Back then, there were numerous challenges. I headed IT operations for a B2B marketplace company, where data was the lifeline. We actively monitored logs to detect threats. Things have improved significantly as much protection now happens from the cloud.
What is most valuable?
Predominantly, we utilized two or three features. One significant aspect was the allocation of bandwidth. Not every user had the same privileges, so high-end users required better bandwidth. We worked on infrastructure where bandwidth was an issue, necessitating allocation.
Additionally, SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively.
What needs improvement?
The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management. A component was installed on every device, consuming substantial memory. When the software was downloaded, optimal hardware utilization was lacking, making hardware upgrades inevitable. Issues like these were tied to the engine size. However, significant improvements and threading have made the solution more convenient, moving from a bulky application.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have known SonicWall for approximately 14 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were challenges with the coexistence of other applications, especially in a Microsoft environment. UTM devices, being closed boxes, posed management issues. Understanding and handling these devices onsite was limited, requiring external support.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
With the transition to cloud, scalability became immediate. Earlier, on-prem setups had scalability constraints due to hardware and bandwidth bottlenecks. Nonetheless, the product is robust, eliminating major scalability concerns.
How are customer service and support?
I have been fortunate to work with a solution specialist company that consistently provided tech support. They ensured smooth operation without significant issues.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously utilized Microsoft solutions.
What about the implementation team?
Two network engineers from my IT team handled the initial setup.
What was our ROI?
We considered it similar to insurance. Failures allowed us to understand the safety net it provided. Investment was challenging but strategic, given its advantages like 30% depreciation in the Indian ecosystem by the third year. Cloud enhancements have amplified the value for money.
What other advice do I have?
For mid-sized to large organizations, SonicWall is the right fit. However, smaller organizations may not find it suitable.
I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten.
showing 1 - 10