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AlaaMady - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a insurance company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Good pricing, simple to set up, and has helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "It's a stable solution."
  • "Getting support can be slow."

What is most valuable?

It is an easy solution to set up.

It's a stable solution.

Technical support has been helpful.

The price is good.

What needs improvement?

The solution doesn't have great scalability.

Getting support can be slow. 

The proxy feature is not so good.

They need to work on word filtering and also the SD-WAN.

With FortiGate, they provide an NAC solution. They provide FortiClient, which is an advanced feature. SonicWall doesn't provide NAC solutions, and even their SSL VPN client is not advanced.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with SonicWall since 2015 - almost seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has 98% stability. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. 

Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have about 1,200 users on the solution. It's deployed to different departments and branches.

It's not really scalable. Not like FortiGate.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is knowledgeable, yet they are not fast. To be honest, they are good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In my organization, I'm working mostly for some other companies. I'm using different firewalls - except Forcepoint. I'm not working with Forcepoint right now, however, in terms of other products, I'm working with them.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. It's not overly complex. 

Two people handled the deployment. It took about half a day. It was a very fast setup. 

For a small and medium implementation, it's quick, however, for an enterprise, it takes some time to configure the policy for the company.

What about the implementation team?

I handle the deployment process for my clients. We use an internal team. We didn't open a case with SonicWall. If we face a problem, we open a case with them.

What was our ROI?

We've seen pretty good ROI so far.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing is yearly based or three years. Their price compared to others is good.

What other advice do I have?

We're end-users.

I'm not working on the latest version of the solution. I missed one or two updates.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. I'd recommend the solution to others. 

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.
PeerSpot user
Sr. Executive IT / DP at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
Offers good protection, but it's expensive, and there are no upgrades for phased out technology
Pros and Cons
  • "The general feature is the antivirus policy, followed by the ransomware protection, and these are the features I was looking at."
  • "The interface and technical support are probably the two most important things that I would like SonicWall to improve."

What is our primary use case?

It is for our company. We are not customers, we are direct clients. I am the end user.

What is most valuable?

The general feature is the antivirus policy, followed by the ransomware protection, and these are the features I was looking at. The VPN feature is not something that I'm a great fan of, but I mean, it is not something that I would even complain about. Whatever is required for my organization, the TZ 400 has performed admirably.

What needs improvement?

The user interface is a little challenging. It is not something I am familiar with. Things could go much more smoothly if they could be improved.

The interface and technical support are probably the two most important things that I would like SonicWall to improve. If the product that they have is to be phased out, there must be an upgrade in technology as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with SonicWall TZ for seven years.

The version we are working with is SonicWall TZ400.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SonicWall TZ is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SonicWall TZ is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

It was difficult to contact technical support online.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before SonicWall TZ, I have not worked with another similar product.

I recently purchased a FortiGate from Fortinet. I am about to receive the delivery, which will most likely be in a fortnight, so I do not have much experience. We are planning to use Fortinet FortiGate, our plan is to switch from SonicWall to Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is smooth. It is not complex.

It can take an hour to two hours to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

The vendor was able to assist us.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The prices are expensive. I wouldn't say the prices are reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

Personally, I find it challenging. Previously, they had an Adobe Flash interface. When Adobe Flash was phased out and a new version was released, it was difficult for us to upgrade, and we received little help from the SonicWall team.

I had also purchased the SonicWall Analyzer. The Analyzer was also based on Adobe Flash, which they did not support. One must consider future expandability and the technology that is being deployed, as well as whether or not it is supported by the company if it is phased out.

I would rate SonicWall TZ a six out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Rich Hoult - PeerSpot reviewer
President at Vector One IT Solutions
Reseller
Top 10
Effective unified threat management, stable, and intuitive setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are unified threat management which provides security intelligence and the VPN for both site-to-site and remote access."
  • "In an upcoming release, SonicWall could improve by adding cloud management for all devices for free or at a nominal cost. Currently, they have a cloud management platform but is not free. We have the MySonicWall portal for purchasing from them for software updates and renewals."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use SonicWall TZ as an internet gateway for a lot of our small to medium-sized clients' sites.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are unified threat management which provides security intelligence and the VPN for both site-to-site and remote access.

What needs improvement?

We are not receiving the rated throughput that the solution claims. We have noticed our client's internet bandwidth has increased but we are not receiving the throughput that the device is sized for. For example, if I have a device that is rated to handle 400 megabits of throughput, we are not receiving that speed. We are receiving significantly less than that in some cases, this needs to be improved. I do not know if this is still the case with the latest generation of SonicWall's, but we have sixth-generation SonicWall's in use and we are not receiving the rated bandwidth.

We have built a host secondary DNS directly on the firewall. For example, If you have a small business environment where you only have one server or you have a remote office location where you do not have any servers, you could use a VPN back to the main office and rely on the internal DNS server. However, you will have no redundancy for DNS. There are two choices, we can either use a public DNS service, which is a mistake because it will not know where the information is on the local network. The active directory is not going to work properly if the resources you want cannot be found. You end up picking between two poor options. You either have no redundancy for DNS or you have redundant DNS where one of them is not the best quality. The whole industry is lacking an alternative. I would like to be able to host a secondary DNS on a firewall appliance, many people need this feature.

In an upcoming release, SonicWall could improve by adding cloud management for all devices for free or at a nominal cost. Currently, they have a cloud management platform but is not free. We have the MySonicWall portal for purchasing from them for software updates and renewals.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SonicWall TZ for approximately 14 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SonicWall TZ is very stable. We rarely have to reboot the platform.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not needed to scale the solution very much, our clients are typically small to medium business environments where we do not need the scalability. However, The scalability could improve because there is not a centralized device manager.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good. However, there is a language barrier because their support is based out of India and you cannot always understand the agent that you are speaking with. Sometimes support is outstanding, and other times you do not have the level of technical expertise that you need.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to do the setup and is intuitive.

What about the implementation team?

To implement and do the maintenance of SonicWall TZ we do not need a dedicated team.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You need to purchase multiple licenses to manage multiple devices which is cost-prohibitive for the value you would receive.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SonicWall TZ an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer1506144 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infra Head at a consumer goods company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Not scalable and doesn't have centralized management monitoring, but it is reliable and the support is good
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support is good."
  • "We require centralized monitoring of the network features, which they have but they are not to the level that we require."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to secure our network environment. We have implemented it in other locations in our organization.

What is most valuable?

It's a good solution with good features.

What needs improvement?

It's a good product, but it's not a next-generation firewall. We are looking for a next-generation firewall and considering Cisco.

We require centralized monitoring of the network features, which they have but they are not to the level that we require.

The reporting is not good. Also, the historical configuration of the data or backup is not available.

To compete in the market, there have to be a lot of improvements.

We do not plan to continue using SonicWall TZ. We are looking for a replacement because we need centralized monitoring across the organization. It has been very difficult for us to manage the firewall as it is not managed centrally. This is the main drawback in our current scenario.

In the next release, I would like to see better scalability, easier installation, improved reporting, storage configuration, backup, and centralized management with reporting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is not very scalable, which is something that could be better.

We have multiple locations and have implemented it in several.

At this time, we have 1,000 users on the firewall.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good. There is no need for improvement.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use another firewall previously.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is not straightforward. But, through the GUI, there are features that you can enable to configure.

Forcepoint and Cisco are straightforward but there are many things to do with SonicWall.

For a first-time installation, it can take half a day to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We completed the implementation ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The license that we purchased is good for three years.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have evaluated ForcePoint but we haven't used it.

We will be testing Cisco and Barracuda in our environment.

What other advice do I have?

For small organizations, its' good, and I would recommend it, but not for medium or large enterprise companies.

I would rate SonicWall TZ a five out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
E-commerce Co-ordinator at First Group International
Real User
Low maintenance, beneficial network MAC binding, and effective firewall
Pros and Cons
  • "SonicWall TZ is very user-friendly and has network MAC binding. Additionally, the firewall works well."
  • "Sometimes there is a glitch between the network connection. Last time, something happened on our IP phone, the SonicWall team did some updates to fix the issue. However, glitches happen very rarely. I did not experience any other types of problems."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using SonicWall TZ for a VPN.

What is most valuable?

SonicWall TZ is very user-friendly and has network MAC binding. Additionally, the firewall works well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SonicWall TZ for approximately three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sometimes there is a glitch between the network connection. Last time, something happened on our IP phone,  the SonicWall team did some updates to fix the issue. However, glitches happen very rarely. I did not experience any other types of problems.

95% of the time the solution is operating well, the performance is good overall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are approximately 40 users using this solution and it is scalable.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used other solutions in the past, but I have found SonicWall TZ the most user-friendly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not complex.

What about the implementation team?

We used some help from the vendor for the implementation. When new implementations or devices are added we sometimes use the vendor for assistance.

The solution is low maintenance. There is some updating that needs to be done by the two-person IT team.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are a few features that are licensed and there should be more that are licensed. The price of the solution is midrange compared to others, I have not had anyone complain.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SonicWall TZ a nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
General Manager at Antea Consulting
Reseller
Easy to set up, stable. and reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable."
  • "Although the pricing is good, it could always be lower. If we get to pay less, we're happier."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution as a firewall for security purposes. We use it to protect ourselves and our clients.

What is most valuable?

The solution, as a firewall is very useful for any company trying to protect their premise through the internet.

The price of the solution is very reasonable.

The performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable.

We have found the solution to be scalable.

In general, it's quite a solid product.

The initial setup is quite simple. 

What needs improvement?

It's worked well for us over the years. We don't have any special demands in terms of new features. It has everything we need. 

Although the pricing is good, it could always be lower. If we get to pay less, we're happier.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been working with the solution for about 22 years. It's been over two decades. We've used it for a long time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is good. The performance is pretty good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's been very good over the years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the product is quite good. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so easily.

We have about 200 customers using this solution right now.

We do have plans to increase usage. We're moving more and more towards managing it.

How are customer service and technical support?

For the SMV market, it's very nice support. We have no complaints. We're happy with the service they provide, especially at the price they offer.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. It's not overly complicated or difficult. A company shouldn't have any problems installing it.

To do an installation might take 15 minutes, then for adding any kind of complexity into the setup, there could be an added four hours or so. It depends on your setup requirements and the environment. 

We have two people that handle the maintenance, and we also have one consultant. 

What about the implementation team?

We handled it ourselves. We're integrators ourselves. It's very easy to do. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product offers very competitive pricing, It's quite good. We find it very reasonable. 

Users need to pay a licensing fee on a monthly basis.

What other advice do I have?

We use various versions of the solution at any given time.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been quite happy with its capabilities.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. 

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: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Head Information Technology at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
User-friendly, reasonably priced, and good threat prevention, but the technical support needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the user-friendly navigation."
  • "The VPN that is available in the new version is a bit bulky and slower in speed."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is to protect all of the internal users from cyber attacks.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the user-friendly navigation.

What needs improvement?

As compared to other firewalls, they should provide an unlimited number of users for the SSL VPN.

The VPN that is available in the new version is a bit bulky and slower in speed. It should also be easier to use.

The SD-WAN feature should be enhanced, similar to Fortinet FortiGate.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for six months.

We have just upgraded TZ to 350.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We are not able to use the VPN. It has limitations. It comes with a certain number of users and we have to spend a lot for VPN accessibility.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is not very good. There is a facility called Geofencing where you can block IP addresses or certain countries.

When contacting their technical support, the technical support said that such a facility is not available in this firewall.

Another issue we had with technical support was when we wanted all of our VPN users to be migrated from our old firewall to this firewall, but somehow, technically they failed to do it. We had to configure it manually.

The technical competency of technical support is a bit on the lower side.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

We have two engineers to maintain and deploy this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is fair.

What other advice do I have?

If it is used for internal users, it is very good as a firewall. But if it has to be used for VPN, it will be a bit costly and the VPN may be bulky. 

Using the VPN is not recommended, but as a firewall for blocking threats, it's good.

I would rate SonicWall TZ a seven out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Manager IT/ System Administrator/ Network Administrator at Indsec
Real User
Provides all required security features and the ability to block anything we want to block
Pros and Cons
  • "We are able to block whatever we want to block by using this product. It provides all required security features, such as content filtering, VPN, in one box. Before switching to SonicWall, we had specified all required features."
  • "It could be made more user friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We are using this firewall with content filtering and other features. 

What is most valuable?

We are able to block whatever we want to block by using this product. It provides all required security features, such as content filtering, VPN, in one box. Before switching to SonicWall, we had specified all required features.

What needs improvement?

It could be made more user friendly.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using SonicWall products for around ten years. Specifically, we have been using SonicWall TZ for the last five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is fine in terms of scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is good. For technical support, sometimes we write directly to SonicWall, and they provide the solution. We sometimes also contact our vendor for support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used GajShield previously. The product went down once, and the GajShield team was unable to provide the support. That's why we replaced the product. 

How was the initial setup?

Its installation is very easy. It took around four hours to install it.

What about the implementation team?

Implementation was done by me with some help from the vendor. I also manage this solution and use it on daily basis. We have an AMC contract with SonicWall, and we renew it directly with them. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its pricing is okay as compared to other solutions.

What other advice do I have?

We have been using this product for around ten years, and we are very comfortable with this product. I would recommend this product based on your requirements. 

I would rate SonicWall TZ a nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SonicWall TZ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free SonicWall TZ Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.