Our primary use case is client-to-site VPN. We are customers of SonicWall.
IT Infrastructure Specialist at Dynatrade LLC
Great way for employees to access our network from home
Pros and Cons
- "Employees can have access to the network from home."
- "The solution takes up a lot of bandwidth."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The best feature is that employees can connect to our LAN, and have access to our network from home.
What needs improvement?
The solution takes more bandwidth these days and it would be helpful if that was reduced.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for three years.
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall Netextender
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall Netextender. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable, we had over 300 users during the peak of Covid when everyone was working from home.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SonicWall has a one-time license fee, it's a moderate cost.
What other advice do I have?
We went with NetExtender because we use SonicWall firewall, it was a practical option. I recommend this solution and rate it eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solutions Architect at Quartet Service Inc.
Stable, scalable, and easy to integrate with SAML
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML."
- "Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution."
What is our primary use case?
I do a fair bit with the virtualized SSL VPN appliances to keep the VPN termination off of the firewall because it's a heavy load on the firewall. It also allows for better integration with so many customers being on the Microsoft 365 portal.
We can't do SAML integration/authentication on VPN clients that are loaded on the firewalls, but we can do that when we put them on VPN-specific appliances.
How has it helped my organization?
When we started to change from IPsec-type clients that were predominantly built right into the firewalls to this approach or deployment style for SSL VPN, the amount of time that our techs spent helping people with VPN issues was probably cut by more than half. It's a model that's easier to support. We have fewer headaches than we used to have when more of the clients were built into the firewalls.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML. This means that rather than needing to deploy other things like Duo, for example, for two-factor authentication and rather than needing to maintain and support server infrastructure for radius services, we can just integrate it with the Microsoft identity management that is already part and parcel with moving into exchange online.
It is stable and scalable.
It is also easy to install.
What needs improvement?
If we could do licensed pooling across multiple devices, it would make it easier to build more resilience into the solution in terms of multiple internet providers.
Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with SonicWall Netextender in the current format for about five years.
The deployment model varies. Sometimes, the customers still have a server room, and sometimes, they do hosting with us. Increasingly, we're also starting to see these SSL VPN appliances being deployed in Azure.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product, especially because more people have been working from home and have better internet providers.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have had no problems with scalability within our customer base. Scalability becomes more of a question when you are dealing with accounts with 10,000 seats.
How are customer service and technical support?
Our network engineers are very happy with SonicWall technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The appliance is easy to set up, and it's become second nature for our temporary staff.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cost wise, it would be a few hundred dollars for the base appliance with the first five clients. Then from there, your cost per seat depends on how many you're getting. It's a one-time cost, and then you have a few hundred dollars a year for the maintenance contract once you get the one-time seat costs out of the way.
What other advice do I have?
Until such time as people start using web application proxies for everything, right from cloud services, SonicWall Netextender is the way to go. It will reduce your support costs and the amount of headaches, and it will allow you better integration with identity management coming from the cloud services and portals.
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate this solution at nine.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall Netextender
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall Netextender. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Administrator at RBDigital
Works without any issues and provides good control over routing
Pros and Cons
- "NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me. In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing."
- "SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender."
What is our primary use case?
NetExtender is for client VPN. Users can use it to connect through a VPN and remotely access the internet services.
What is most valuable?
NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me.
In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing.
What needs improvement?
SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for around five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I can't say much about stability. I have multiple firewalls from the same company. If one firewall is down, I can connect to another firewall.
How are customer service and technical support?
I never had to call their technical support for NetExtender. In general, like every firewall company, it depends on who you're talking to. Sometimes, you get good support, and sometimes, you don't get good support, and you have to force them to do something more because they just keep on saying that it is not just this. It is also this and that. You have to force them to go in one direction. I have had the same experience with Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
NetExtender is easy to install. You go to the SonicWall website and download NetExtender. If you are not sure about the setup options, you just keep on clicking on yes. All the configuration is automatically done.
Its setup is done inside the SonicWall router. Some people don't like SonicWall because they find it too complicated, but I like it. You get more granular control on everything and have to do more things, which makes it complicated, but I prefer it being complicated. I don't like not having enough options. If there are 100 options, I will study them one by one and use them, but for some people, it can be too complicated when there are too many options.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You have to pay for its license. There are some other companies that provide a VPN client for free. When you buy NetExtender, its license is available for one, three, or five years.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate SonicWall NetExtender an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to configure and user friendly but needs to support the Mac OS
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is pretty easy."
- "There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is used as an enterprise infrastructure VPN.
We have our users connecting if they work from home, for example. We are using NetExtender for connecting our users to the office.
What is most valuable?
The product is very cost-effective. For the price-sensitive market, this is a very good product for an SSL VPN solution.
The initial setup is pretty easy.
The product is very user-friendly.
The solution so far has proven itself to be quite stable.
The documentation is excellent. They have a lot of detail and cover a lot of aspects of the product.
The solution is very easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
I'm not sure if the solution also supports the Mac OS. If it doesn't, that is something that could be very valuable.
There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution over the last 12 months at least.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. It's a very reliable solution. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite good overall in terms of performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have around 50 users on the solution currently. We've never tried to scale beyond that. Therefore, I can't speak to the scalability potential. It's not something we've actively explored.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've never had the need to reach out to technical support. For that reason, I can't really speak to how helpful or responsive they are. There isn't any feedback I could provide.
That said, there is a lot of documentation available, which would make it possible for users to seek out their own answers to problems if they needed to.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was okay. Of course, it's important to get it right, however, once it is set up, the solution is extremely user-friendly and easy to manage. A company shouldn't have any issues with the process.
The deployment was pretty quick. It only took about two or so days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the product is good. It's quite reasonable for companies and easily affordable.
We pay a yearly licensing fee. Once you procure the license, it is attached to your SonicWall firewall. Therefore, you won't need to procure it or purchase it again and again.
What other advice do I have?
We're SonicWall partners.
We're likely using the latest version of the solution.
I'd advise those considering the solution that, if they already have a SonicWall firewall, they can just procure the licenses and enable the work from home for their users.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SonicWall Netextender Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2024
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Buyer's Guide
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