The SonicWall NSA E7500 is a breeze to configure, an excellent performer, and the truest unified threat manager (UTM) we tested, blocking an impressive 96 percent of the attacks we threw at it. The SonicWall didn't quite match the WatchGuard's throughput, but did provide six times the throughput of the Astaro and ZyXel units, and far better attack protection than all three. The SonicWall may be the only truly effective UTM in the group, but it's also startlingly more expensive than the other products.
SonicWall provides gateway anti-virus services across a range of protocols: HTTP, FTP, IMAP, SMTP, POP3, CIFS/NetBIOS, and TCP streaming protocols, either inbound or outbound. It also provides rich IDS/IPS functionality, anti-spyware protection (with an incredibly rich set of signatures available to check packets against), a real-time black list, and Web content filter that can restrict ActiveX, Java, cookies, or HTTP proxy services, as well as use white and black lists for access. It should be pointed out that rules could be applied by schedule, to perhaps allow gaming after hours.
[ When is a UTM not a UTM? Read the overall results of the InfoWorld Test Center's great UTM challenge. Read the other reviews: Astaro Security Gateway 425 | WatchGuard Firebox Peak X5500e | ZyXel ZyWall USG1000 | Compare the UTMs feature by feature. ]
Optional software is available to allow the SonicWall to provide NAC-like services such as enforcing the use of anti-virus software on clients. SonicWall also offers a central management system that allows you to manage all of your SonicWall devices from a single console.
| Test Center Scorecard | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 15% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 10% | ||
| SonicWall NSA E7500 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8.3 Very Good |
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