The SonicWALL PRO series of security appliances provide gateway security features for networks--including both firewall protection and IPSec VPN connectivity--targeted primarily to SMB deployments. Each of the devices is 1U rack mountable.

Each of the appliances in the product line feature stateful packet inspection firewalls and IPSec VPN support, including bundled packages of VPN clients. The number of VPN clients included varies from appliance to appliance, as does support for the maximum number of concurrent site to site VPN tunnels or VPN clients.

Available security service options for the PRO series appliances include:

- Gateway Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Intrusion Prevention Service, which provides gateway-based application layer and content analysis for viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans and software vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows (included in the 4100 and 5060 models)

- Enforced Client and Server Anti-Virus, which provides desktop/server level anti-malware tools that are enforced at the gateway (individual machines must be compliant with anti-virus/anti-spyware policies, definitions, and software updates)

- Content filtering for the blocking/management of access to categorized Web sites (over 55 categories available)

- ViewPoint, a Web-based visibility/reporting tool (included in the 4060, 4100, and 5060 models)

Currently available models and metrics in the product line include:

- PRO 1260: A 24 port (10/100) offering providing 90 Mbps (firewall)/30+ Mb/sec (VPN) throughput and including 5 VPN clients (50 max). Up to 25 concurrent site-to-site VPN tunnels are supported.

- PRO 2040: A four port appliance boasting throughputs to 200 Mb/sec and 50 Mb/sec. Total site-to-site concurrent VPN tunnels is restricted to 50, and 10 VPN clients (100 maximum, w/SonicOS Enhanced) are included.

- PRO 3060: Similar to the 2040 offering, but with support for up to 6 Ethernet ports. The PRO 3060 supplies throughputs of 290 Mb/sec and 75 Mb/sec; and the device includes 25 bundled VPN clients with support for 500 (w/out SonicOS Enhanced) to 1000 (with SonicOS Enhanced) site-to-site concurrent VPN tunnels.

- PRO 4060: Primarily extends the VPN capabilities of the PRO 3060, with 1000 bundled VPN clients included and support for up to 3000 concurrent VPN tunnels. Throughput is 300+ Mb/sec and 190 Mb/sec. The SonicOS Enhanced platform is included in the PRO 4060 (and all higher models).

- PRO 4100: The PRO 4100 boasts 10 Gig Ethernet interfaces and lists firewall throughput of 800 Mb/sec and VPN throughput at 400 Mb/sec.

- PRO 5060: The 5060 upgrades the unit's overall performance and is provided with 6 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports or 2 SX/SC multimode Fiber and 4 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports. Total throughput is extended to 2.4 Gb/sec and 700Mb/sec, and 2000 VPN clients are bundled with the unit (6000 max). 4000 concurrent site-to-site tunnels are supported.

Each of the PRO series appliances is driven by the vendor's proprietary SonicOS (Standard in the lower three models, and Enhanced in the higher three) firmware. The latest release of SonicOS (available now) updates the firmware to include an application layer firewall, including the ability to scan files and documents for keywords enabling the restriction of file transfers of certain file names, types, E-mail attachments, or E-mail attachment types, E-mails with certain subjects, etc. Other new or enhanced features include support for HTTPS content filtering, SSL control features (the ability to enforce SSL connection policies), and MS-CHAP-V2 support for L2TP over IPSec.

The PRO Series appliances are available now. Base pricing ranges from $1,799 (PRO 2040) to $10,995 (PRO 5060).

Contact SonicWALL for further information.