SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSa) series

Industry-validated security effectiveness and performance for mid-sized networks, distributed enterprises and data centers

The SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSa) series provides organizations that range in scale from mid-sized networks to distributed enterprises and data centers with advanced threat prevention in a high-performance security platform. Utilizing innovative deep learning technologies in the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform, the NSa series delivers the automated real-time breach detection and prevention organizations need.

Cutting-edge threat prevention with superior performance

Today's network threats are highly evasive and increasingly difficult to identify using traditional methods of detection. Staying ahead of sophisticated attacks requires a more modern approach that heavily leverages security intelligence in the cloud. Without that cloud intelligence, gateway security solutions can't keep pace with today's complex threats. NSa series next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) integrate two advanced security technologies to deliver cutting-edge threat prevention that keeps your network one step ahead. Enhancing SonicWall's multi-engine Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service is our patent-pending Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI™) technology. The RTDMI engine proactively detects and blocks mass market, zero-day threats and unknown malware by inspecting directly in memory. Because of the real-time architecture, SonicWall RTDMI technology is precise, minimizes false positives, and identifies and mitigates sophisticated attacks where the malware's weaponry is exposed for less than 100 nanoseconds. In combination, SonicWall's patented single-pass Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI) engine examines every byte of every packet, inspecting both inbound and outbound traffic on the firewall. By leveraging the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform in addition to on-box capabilities including intrusion prevention, anti-malware and web/URL filtering, the NSa series blocks even the most insidious threats at the gateway.

Further, SonicWall firewalls provide complete protection by performing full decryption and inspection of TLS/ SSL and SSH encrypted connections regardless of port or protocol. The firewall looks deep inside every packet (the header and data) searching for protocol non-compliance, threats, zero-days, intrusions, and even defined criteria. The deep packet inspection engine detects and prevents hidden attacks that leverage cryptography, blocks encrypted malware downloads, ceases the spread of infections, and thwarts command and control (C&C) communications and data exfiltration. Inclusion and exclusion rules allow total control to customize which traffic is subjected to decryption and inspection based on specific organizational compliance and/or legal requirements.

When organizations activate deep packet inspection functions such as IPS, antivirus, anti-spyware, TLS/SSL decryption/ inspection and others on their firewalls, network performance often slows down, sometimes dramatically. NSa series firewalls, however, feature a multi-core hardware architecture that utilizes specialized security microprocessors. Combined with our RTDMI and RFDPI engines, this unique design eliminates the performance degradation networks experience with other firewalls.