SonicWall to offer two options for its updated operating system

SonicWall at the end of September will roll out an updated version of its operating system that comes in two flavors: one for sophisticated users and one for less sophisticated users interested in quick and easy configuration.

SonicOS 2.0 runs on two new firewall/VPN devices that the company is also announcing called SonicWall PRO 3060 and SonicWall PRO 4060 appliances.

Over time OS 2.0 will be available for some of the company’s existing hardware as well as new hardware yet to be announced, the company says.

The simpler version of the software is called SonicOS 2.0s and uses set-up wizards to guide customers through a basic set of configuration options. This is intended for smaller businesses with limited IT resources and limited need for segmenting users and policies, SonicWall says.

The more sophisticated version is called SonicOS 2.0e and gives users more configuration options that are accessible via a Web browser and through a series of dialog boxes to set options for more complex networks. Some of these new features are already offered by competitors such as Fortinet, Netscreen, Nokia and Check Point.

SonicOS 2.0e lets users define security zones – subnets for which customers can set up their own security policies. Similarly, it lets users define sets of policies that they can then apply to one or more zones and define user groups to which policies can be applied.

These features can be integrated with inbound VPN tunnels being set up by remote PCs. Based on remote users’ logon, the software can assign them to groups, and policies as those groups can limit access to network resources as defined by subnets. This gives finer control over who can access what via a VPN tunnel.

The new operating system supports failover and load balancing between two Internet connections.

When SonicOS 2.0 is available Sept. 29, only the two new SonicWall hardware devices will support it. SonicWall PRO 3060 performs 100M bit/sec Triple-DES and has maximum firewall throughput of about 200M bit/sec. SonicWall PRO 4060 supports 200M bit/sec encryption and 200M bit/sec firewall protection.

Both are equipped with extra processing power and memory to accommodate later add-ons such as Secure Sockets Layer remote access support or intrusion detection.

PRO 3060 replaces PRO 330 and PRO 4060 replaces GX250, both of which are lower powered and cost the same as or less than their replacements. SonicWall says the PRO 3060 device is intended to compete directly against Cisco 515E-R and 515E-R DMZ routers, and the PRO 4060 is targeted at Cisco’s 515E-UR. SonicWall claims its devices cost less and are faster at firewalling and encrypting.

The PRO 3060 ships with either SonicOS 2.0s or SonicOS2.0e. PRO 4060 ships only with SonicOS 2.0e.

PRO 3060 costs $2,795 with SonicOS 2.0s and $3,390 with SonicOS 2.0e. PRO 4060 costs $4,995.