it_user601146 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technologist at Digifabshop (Hudson, NY)
Real User
Algorithm detects and deals with any kind of malware that comes into our network
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the stability of this product to be excellent."
  • "An additional feature that I would like to see is reporting that includes metrics to give me more information about the number of viruses that it has actually detected and interrupted."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for this solution is to protect our network.

How has it helped my organization?

This product has a really good algorithm to find and deal with any kind of malware that comes into our network. We have had no incidents at all of any kind of piracy, corruption, etc.

What is most valuable?

In terms of features, I find that this product has good configurability. It also does its job really well.

What needs improvement?

I find that the user interface for the product configuration needs improvement. It is not intuitive when you are trying to figure out how to get something done.

An additional feature that I would like to see is reporting that includes metrics to give me more information about the number of viruses that it has actually detected and interrupted.

Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have found the stability of this product to be excellent. It is very stable, and nothing goes wrong. It just works.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I imagine that the product is very scalable, but what we are using is probably one-tenth of its capacity. We have around fifty users.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is excellent.

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

We did not use a different solution prior to this one.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It took us under ten minutes to deploy, from taking it out of the box, plugging it in, and having it up and running.

Beyond this initial setup, everything is automatic and it does not require maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the installation myself, with some help from their technical support.

What was our ROI?

I imagine that we have seen a return on our investment, but it is invisible. It is a firewall and we haven't suffered any loss. Had we, then it would have been a lot more than the cost of the device and the license. As far as I'm concerned it pays for itself instantly.

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

The pricing was a factor for us, and we felt that the price was good.

The licensing cost is on an annual basis, and there are no additional costs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did some research on other solutions, and I found that they were all pretty much similar. I was having a very hard time choosing an alternative, so I went with what we already had in place.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others who are implementing this solution is to take advantage of their technical support.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
SME, IT Consultant & Founder with 11-50 employees
Real User
Has the best ease of use I've encountered in my limited experience

What is our primary use case?

This was for a small business with roughly twelve 5x8 employee users. This is not a healthcare client but they do value their security.

How has it helped my organization?

We bought a T115 which was working fine, but when we went to renew the contract, it jumped to twice the amount. I asked why and was told the two-year-old model was being discontinued. My option was to upgrade to a SOHO or TZ. Not only was this a waste of money, but it also made me look bad.

What is most valuable?

SonicWall does have the best ease of use I've encountered in my limited experience. It's easy to set up.

What needs improvement?

The hardware is outdated and very slow. They are far behind Sophos and even FortiGate when it comes to hardware.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user823308 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President with 11-50 employees
User
Provides protection with ease of use and flexibility
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the protection available, and then ease of use and flexibility."
  • "The market seems to be going to a cloud-supported, new generation of firewall products. I think that's probably going to be important to us, the next time around."

What is our primary use case?

It is used as firewalls are normally used and performance has been outstanding. We've been very happy with it. 

How has it helped my organization?

It has provided the necessary security, that's what it's there for.

What is most valuable?

I really don't know. I'm not really an IT person, per se, but I would say number one is the protection available, and then ease of use and flexibility. Those would be the top three.

What needs improvement?

I'm not an IT guy. What I will say is that the market seems to be going to a cloud-supported, new generation of firewall products. I think that's probably going to be important to us, the next time around.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been, to the best of my knowledge, trouble-free.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't used tech support, at least, not that I'm aware of. We outsourced all of our IT stuff. They may have used it, but I'm not aware of anything.

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

We've used nothing but SonicWall, up until now.

What other advice do I have?

I would say the most important criterion, when selecting a vendor, is probably the technology utilized.

The one we've got now is five years old. The next generation with the cloud-based signature and operation... I know SonicWall has what they call Capture, which is advanced threat protection type stuff. I think that is probably what we're going to be looking at next.

There are certainly a lot of options out there, and there are a lot of good options. I would say, stick with a name brand, whether it's SonicWall, or Check Point, or Palo Alto, or Cisco - any of those. You need to stick with a big name brand that is at the forefront of things.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Engineer at Asia General Contracting
Real User
Offers good protection and support for my network
Pros and Cons
  • "They give good protection to my network and support it."
  • "I currently have two of the issues from SonicWall. One issue is that the IP is not the public IP. Sometimes it moves to an alternate source and I have to refresh the new IP then we can go on."

What is most valuable?

Most of the features are valuable. They give good protection to my network and support it. It has a good facility with side to side VPN and everything. I use it in all my offices.

What needs improvement?

I currently have two issues from SonicWall. One issue is that the IP is not the public IP. Sometimes it moves to an alternate source and I have to refresh the new IP then we can proceed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for the past three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. I like it. The TZ600 is good. I've had no issues or problems. We have about 100 users at the moment.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is not good. If we send complaints to the SonicWall support they don't provide good support for us. You can't call them by phone.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to install. I don't remember exactly how long the deployment took.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be if you're buying this product, you will have to look up the security design. There are not a lot of firewalls up on the market, but I've found SonicWall to be reliant.

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10. It's good.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
User
Enables us to centralize our servers so they can provide applications to different locations and users.

What is most valuable?

The main features are support and security.

How has it helped my organization?

We have several locations, each with a VPN to a central office. SonicWall provides each location with its own security and provides our company with the ability to centralize our servers so they can provide applications to all the locations and users.

What needs improvement?

The SonicWall is somewhat misunderstood due to its being a lot more complicated to use and set up. A simpler interface would help this issue.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were no stability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would give technical support and rating of 8/10. Most of the time support is with foreign staff and can be hard to understand.

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

We have not used a different solution since I have been with the company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was somewhat complex. The interface can be a little hard to get used to and understand.

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

It is not cheap, but it is probably one of the best secure firewalls. You get what you pay for!

What other advice do I have?

Shop around and make sure you need this level of security. Have lots of time to get to know this device because the rewards are plenty.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
General Manager at sysguard
Reseller
The technical support for the end user was reduced because the wipe action was already controlled
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability is very nice."
  • "There can be an improvement in analysis and reporting. We need enhancement on the reporting side."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as a next-generation firewall, protecting our websites, our studio, protecting our network from attacks and also content filtering for our youth, our users on the network, and also a gateway anti-virus.

How has it helped my organization?

The technical support for the end user was reduced because the wipe action was already controlled. Also, the gateway antivirus prevented any virus from getting onto PCs or laptops. The administration of our network is very efficient.

What is most valuable?

I've found content censoring to be the most useful.

What needs improvement?

There can be an improvement in analysis and reporting. We need enhancement on the reporting side.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very nice. We have around fifty people using the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We used administrative documents from the website of SonicWall. There was no need for anything else. Deployment took one or two hours, but we had a planning session first. Without that, implementation would take a long time.

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

Licensing costs have been around $2,000. There are no other costs above the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution, it's a good solution. I would rate it 8 out of 10.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Director of Pre-sales, training and development. with 11-50 employees
Vendor
It's straightforward to setup but reporting needs to be improved.

What is most valuable?

  • All feautures related to deep packet inspection (IPS, application control, anti-malware, anti-spyware)
  • Single Sign On
  • Web content filter
  • VPN

How has it helped my organization?

We sell the product, and we have a lot of business for it, and our customers are happy with the solution.

What needs improvement?

  • Advance malware analysis (sandbox)
  • Reporting

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the NSA, E-Class and Supermassive models over the last 12 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

If it's planned correctly, there will be no problems.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sometimes there are issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's good.

Technical Support:

It's medium.

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

We previously used CheckPoint and switched because it was expensive.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We are a vendor team.

What was our ROI?

It normally comes within eight months for us.

What other advice do I have?

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a Dell Premium Partner.
PeerSpot user
DPO - Especialista em Proteção de Dados at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Good site categorization and application controls; user interface could be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "Good site categorization and application controls."
  • "User interface could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our company provides consultancy services. We are resellers and integrators, and we implement this solution for our customers. I'm a systems engineer.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution is important for the main security program of our client companies. 

What is most valuable?

I like the site categorization and application controls, and I also like the anti-spam feature.

What needs improvement?

The user interface could be improved. Another issue is that part of the company strategy is that once the license expires, the company blocks features and things slow down. It would be nice if they would provide a free version for small companies. Most companies here in Brazil either don't have the money or their culture is cost-oriented so they don't make large investments in security. They prefer products which are less expensive such as open, source-based firewalls. Having access to a free version would mean that we could create an awareness within the company about the importance of these solutions. Because of the dollar rate, the product is quite expensive for us, whereas in the States it's affordable to spend a few thousand dollars on a solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this product for six years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is not very scalable. We often have to change the appliances. That's the downside on these kinds of projects because it then requires the company to make an additional purchase. Our clients usually have up to 400 users each. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't like the technical support much. There is a long wait time to get a response. 

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

We also use Fortinet for our clients and we prefer that solution. Fortinet has a better user interface that's easier to use with no hardware charges. It's a more expensive solution but you get what you pay for. The graphical user interface is not so easy with SonicWall. Sophos also has a better user interface.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex and takes a few hours. It really requires specialized technicians. If the user interface was easier it would be a little less complex to deploy. It means they need to contact companies like ours, but maybe they need to improve their in-house support. 

What other advice do I have?

We think SonicWall is a good product. Sometimes the technicians don't have the expertise to deploy and there can be issues with appliances that are not sized correctly and the appliances get overloaded and it slows down the network. It's not because of the solution, it's the lack of experience.

I would rate this solution a six out of 10. 

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