The SonicWALL PRO 2040 Standard system provides three 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connections in a 1U height case. Installation and set up is simple.
The system comes with default IP address settings, so the management machine needs to have its own network IP address altered to be on the same subnet as the SonicWALL device. After this, configuration continues by pointing a web browser at the default address, which then triggers a setup wizard. Internet Explorer is preferred, although the software includes Mozilla browsers for Windows, Linux and Macintosh systems.
Multiple VPN connections are allowed subject to the limitations of the connection policy in use.
User authentication is handled within the device, although Radius authentication is also supported.
Management options include support for the Simple Network Management Protocol and SonicWALL's own Global Management System. The system can collect and display statistics for bandwidth use by connection or service type, and maintain log data for a wide range of categories, several of which can also be set to trigger alerts, although it is not possible to set thresholds for these items. The management interface offers online help, but this will fall back to a limited troubleshooting checklist if the device cannot connect to a SonicWALL website to retrieve the help pages.
Our port scans revealed the bare minimum of open ports, while the system logged the scans as intrusion attempts, reporting them via email.
The supplied VPN client software will run on most Windows systems, including Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and must be installed on each client machine before use. It can be configured to launch either when the user logs onto the client or from the Start menu. Clients are configured on the initial launch using a setup wizard, which offers the option of loading the connection details from a local file or from the VPN Gateway, easing the workload on support staff a little. The client software works well, and maintains a detailed log that can determine activity and any errors.
