Basic Sonicwall Guide
This is a basic Sonicwall guide. Sonicwall firewalls are a good choice of firewall for any size of business. Their product range includes small firewalls for single offices, right up to large corporate devices for connecting thousands of users across multiple locations.
Central to the entire product portfolio is the Sonic OS – the operating system that runs on the hardware and gives the network administrator the control required over the network.
Access to the Sonicwall is done using a standard web browser. Simply type the IP address of the device into your browser address bar, and you will be presented with the GUI.
Adding an Address Object
Go to Network, Address Objects.
At the top are Address Groups. Scroll down until you see the section for Address Objects. Click Add and enter the required details.
Adding an Access Rule
Access rules can be used to permit or deny traffic inbound or outbound. A common rule to add might be to allow SMTP traffic from the Internet to your internal email server. This would require a NAT policy and an Access Rule.
To add an Access Rule of this nature, go to Firewall, Access Rules. It can be easier to use the Matrix view. Then click the appropriate option, in this example it is a WAN Ã LAN rule. Then click Add.
Complete the necessary areas in the dialog box, and then click Add at the bottom. Access Rules require objects, so you need to create the object for the rule.
Saving the Sonicwall Configuration
It is important to keep your Sonicwall configuration backed up. This will allow easy recovery to another Sonicwall device if your firewall fails.
Go to System, Settings, and click Export Settings:
You will be given the option to save the file, and rename it if required.
To Import a saved config, do the same but click the Import Settings button – and then browse the file you have saved.
PINGing a device from the Sonicwall
A useful step when troubleshooting network issues can be to ping a device from the firewall. To do this, go to System, Diagnostics, and select the Ping Diagnostic Tool from the menu. Enter the DNS name or IP address of the device to ping and click Go.
If it has been successful, you will see the output shown above.
Restricting Sonicwall Management Access
Within the Sonicwall web interface, navigate to Network > Interfaces. Under Management, ensure HTTPS is selected. To make things easier, it is best to uncheck the HTTP option.
Then navigate to Firewall > Access Rules > (Using the matrix option) > WAN > WAN. Here you will see a rule that has been automatically added for HTTPS Management.
Click the Edit option on the right, and use the Source menu to restrict access from the Address Group or Object you require.
Here is a video tutorial to guide you through doing this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Vj5zlbgjs
We also have videos for these other Sonicwall processes:
Sonicwall Zones and Access Rules
Sonicwall NAT Policy and Access Rule
Sonicwall firewalls have many other features and functions, and many are very complex. activereach Ltd support engineers can assist you with any issues or queries you have regarding your device. Please contact us to raise a support case and we will be happy to help.
activereach can help you with a network security audit so give us a call on 0845 625 9025 or contact us to find out more.
