It’s an unspoken code among entrepreneurs and CEO’s all over the world – if you’re passionate about your business, you want to protect it the best way. Whether you own a small company, or a multinational conglomerate, you will do whatever it takes to keep it safe. No one knows that better than SonicWall, a Silicon Valley-based company that sells a range of Internet appliances primarily directed at content control and network security.
In fact, it’s one of the reasons why they created SonicWall SOHO 250, a security firewall targeted towards small businesses that require the same level of protection most organisations get, but at a more affordable price. Ideal for home offices, small offices, and distributed enterprises such as restaurants and retail chains, SonicWall’s SOHO 250 provides high-speed threat prevention and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology all enclosed in a flexible, integrated security solution.
Why Choose SonicWall SOHO 250?
When you use SonicWall SOHO 250, you are assured of big-business protection and uncompromising security. In other words, users are able to take full advantage of high-speed broadband, without compromising the highly effective protection needed to stop cyberattacks. On top of all that, distributed retail businesses, and even campus environments, can take advantage of the many other tools of SonicWall to gain even greater benefits.
What are those other benefits, you may ask? Well, thanks to SonicWall SOHO 250, branch locations of businesses are able to exchange information securely with the central office using Virtual Private Networking (VPN). Creating virtual LANs (VLANs) enables segmentation of the network into separate corporate and customer groups with rules that determine the level of communication with devices on other VLANs.
As mentioned earlier, SonicWall SOHO 250 is equipped with software-defined wide area networking technology or (SD-WAN). A big benefit of SD-WAN is its low cast, it works as a secure alternative to costly MPLS circuits while still being able to deliver consistent application performance and availability.
To those unaware of the concept, MPLS, short for Multiprotocol Label Switching, is a routing technique done by telecommunications networks.The technique involves directing data from one node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, thus avoiding complex look ups in a routing table and speeding traffic flows.
The thing about MPLS is that it’s a technique, not a service, so it can deliver anything from IP VPNs to metro Ethernet. However, since it is rather costly, many businessmen are looking at SD-WAN, software-defined wide area networking technology, as a viable alternative. With SD-WAN, you get the same results as MPLS – at a much lesser price.
Another big feature of SonicWall SOHO 250 is its Zero-Touch Deployment capability. Zero-Touch Deployment makes it easy for the SonicWall SOHO 250 to be deployed to remote locations. Zero-Touch Deployment enables provisioning of the firewall remotely through the cloud.
On a final note as to why you should buy the SonicWall SOHO 250…SOHO 250 is a prime product of the SonicWall TZ series, a group of firewalls that offer integrated security solutions for small to medium enterprises. SonicWall SOHO 250 is one of the newest additions to the TZ series, along with the SonicWall TZ350. If you’re going to invest in your business, you might as well invest in the most technologically-advanced of the lot.
To put it simply, these new firewalls, SOHO 250 and TZ350 are quite literally SonicWall’s cream of the crop, they protect more connected devices, have higher speeds, and offer simple deployment & management of SonicWall’s first-class protection for your network – all in a compact, desktop package.
Pros
Enterprise Grade Network Protection
Deep Packet Inspection Of All Traffic Without Restrictions On File Size Or Protocol
Secure 802.11ac Wireless Connectivity Using Integrated Wireless Controller Or Via External SonicPoint Wireless Access Points
SSL VPN Mobile Access For Apple iOS, Google Android, Amazon Kindle, Windows, Mac OS And Linux Devices
Over 100 additional Ports Can Be Securely Managed By The TZ Console When Deployed In Combination With Dell X-Series Switches
Cons
Lacks After Sales Support
Software/ GUI bugs
Key Features
RFDI Engine
SonicWall’s high-performance, proprietary and patented inspection engine performs stream-based, bi-directional traffic analysis, without proxying or buffering, to uncover intrusion attempts and malware, and to identify application traffic regardless of port.
Secure SD-WAN
An alternative to more expensive technologies such as MPLS, secure SD-WAN enables distributed enterprise organizations to build, operate and manage secure, high-performance networks across remote sites for the purpose of sharing data, applications and services using readily-available, low-cost public Internet services.
Cloud-Based And On-Premises Management
Configuration ad management of SonicWall appliances is available via the cloud through the SonicWall Capture Security Center and on premises using SonicWall Global Management System (GMS).
Virtual Private Networking
Simplifies and reduces complex distributed firewall deployment down to a trivial effort by automating the initial site-to-site VPN gateway provisioning between SonicWall firewalls, while security and connectivity occurs instantly and automatically.
Content And Context Awareness
Identifies and controls network traffic going to or coming from specific countries to either protect against attacks from known or suspected origins of threat activity, or to investigate suspicious traffic originating from the network.
This feature provides the ability to create custom country and Botnet lists to override an incorrect country, or a Botnet tag associated with an IP address. The Content And Context Awareness feature eliminates unwanted filtering of IP addresses due to misclassification.
Capture Advanced Threat Protection
The multi-engine sandbox platform, which includes virtualized sandboxing, full system emulation, and hypervisor level analysis technology, executes suspicious code and analyzes behavior, providing comprehensive visibility to malicious activity.
Encrypted Threat Prevention
Decrypts and inspects TLS/SSL encrypted traffic on the fly, without proxying, for malware, intrusions and data leakage. It also applies application, URL and content control policies in order to protect against threats hidden in encrypted traffic.
Application Intelligence And control
Control applications, or individual application features, that are identified by the RFDPI engine against a continuously expanding database of over thousands of application signatures, to increase network security and enhance network productivity.
Content Filtering
Blocks content using the predefined categories or any combination of categories. Filtering can be scheduled by time of day, such as during school or business hours, and applied to individual users or groups.
Enforce Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware
Powerful spyware protection scans and blocks the installation of a comprehensive array of spyware programs on desktops and laptops before they transmit confidential data, providing greater desktop security and performance.
Other Features
Capture ATP Support
App Visualization and Geo-IP
Botnet Filter
CSC Management and Reporting
Specifications
| Firewall Throughput: | 600mbps | ||
| Threat Prevention: | 200mbps | ||
| IPSec VPN: | 200mbps | ||
| Max Connections: | 50000 | ||
| Max Access Points: | 4 | ||
| Weigh: | 1.85 lbs | ||
| Dimension: | 9x9x3 in | ||
| Power Supply: | 24W |
How To Use
Think the SonicWall SOHO will be a big help for your business?
Learn more about SonicWall SOHO 250‘s features and current price here.
But, if you’ve already purchased the SonicWall SOHO 250, check out this easy to understand installation guide to get you started :
- Cabling The SonicWall As A Network Gateway:
– Locate the SonicWall ports X0 and X1, port X0 is also labelled as LAN, and port X1 is also labelled as WAN. Connect your Internet access device such as a cable or DSL modem to SonicWall WAN (X1) port, then connect the SonicWall LAN (X0) port to your laptop or PC or to a Network Switch. - Set Up The SonicWall As A Network Gateway To Provide Secure Access For Wired And Wireless Users:
– By providing secure network access to private networks such as LAN or DMZ. - Access To The Internet Through A Cable Modem, DSL Modem Or A 3G/4G Modem
- Access the SonicWall Admin User Interface :
– Connect a PC to the SonicWall LAN (X0) interface or a network switch connected to the LAN interface. You will automatically receive an IP address from the SonicWall appliance.
– Open a browser to https://192.168.168.168 for access to the SonicWall. For first time access as the Admin user, you will be offered a choice to use a Setup Wizard, or go directly to the SonicWall management interface.
– At the SonicWall management login page, the default Admin username and password is: admin/password. - Use The SonicWall Startup Wizard For The First Time Setup Of A SonicWall
- Click Next At The Welcome To The SonicOS Setup Wizard Page
– If you need to set up an Access Point, you can run the Wireless Wizard after the Setup Wizard. - Change Administrator Password page
– You can change the Administrator password.The default Administrator username is “admin,” and the default Administrator password is “password.” - WAN Network Mode page
– Select the option Cable/Mode-based Connections for DHCP assigned IP addresses (Recommended setting), then select the option Router-based Connections for Static IP address and Netmask.
About SonicWall
SonicWall is a private company headquartered in Silicon Valley. SonicWall sells a range of Internet appliances that provide content control and network security. These include devices providing services for network firewalls, unified threat management (UTM), virtual private networks (VPN), and anti-spam for email. SonicWall also markets and sells information subscription services related to their products. On May 9 2012, American multinational technology company Dell bought SonicWall, then sold it to private equity firm Francisco Partners and Elliot Management four years after.
In 1991, two brothers by the name of Sreekanth Ravi and Sudhakar Ravi founded SonicWall. At that time, SonicWall was named Sonic Systems.Sonic developed Ethernet and Fast Ethernet cards, hubs, and bridges for the Apple market. In case you’re wondering how the company changed its name from Sonic Systems to SonicWall, the transition happened after Sonic Systems came out with Interpol, a hardware appliance with firewall and VPN software called Interpol. The appliance was created to service the small-business market, and was later named SonicWALL.
The public loved Interpol, and as sales for the security appliances grew bigger and bigger, the company put aside its Apple add-on networking side, and rebranded itself as a network security company. In late 1999, SonicWall formally changed its name from Sonic Systems to SonicWALL, Inc, a change that coincided with its shift from an Apple-producing business to a 100 % network security company. SonicWall currently has 1600 employees and earns more than $265 a year. American business executive F.William Conner is the company’s current CEO.
Final Thoughts
SonicOS includes a powerful set of capabilities that provides organizations with the flexibility to tune these Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewalls to their specific network requirements. When it comes to SonicWall Soho 250, we conclude it works best for small to midsize organizations. With this product, you can be sure your data will be protected from worms, trojans, software vulnerabilities and other unwelcome intrusions. SonicWall SOHO 250 is also excellent at content filtering and routinely scans any device it is in for malicious or anomalous patterns.
Another feature we were impressed with is SonicWall’s Zero-Touch Deployment. When you have a business with a new franchise, you need someone to go to the new location to install and configure the firewalls locally. Zero-Touch Deployment saves you from all that hassle. All business owners have to do is register at the Capture Security Center, SonicWall’s cloud-based central management console, ship the firewall to the new site, connect the device to the Internet, and it will be all integrated. Overall, after a thorough discussion of all its features, specifications and capabilities, we can definitely and confidently say, the SonicWall Soho 250 is capable of covering all the security needs of a small network.
What do you think of our SonicWall SOHO 250 product review? Were you impressed by the product’s features? Or do you want to see what else is out there?If you want to go through more hardware firewall products in the market, feel free to go through other hardware firewall reviews on the site. Whether you like SonicWall SOHO 250 or you don’t, we hope you find what will suit you best.
