Introduction

Today, enterprises and service providers face increasing security challenges in their distributed networks, from security and virus attacks to enforcing security policies. As a distributed network grows and branches into multiple subnetworks linked by the Internet, so does the complexity of managing security appliances, security policies, and updates. A single flaw in security implementation at any point in the network can expose the entire infrastructure, allowing malicious access to important data and files with severe consequences. Managing security for distributed networks on a site-by-site basis is time consuming, expensive, and unreliable, putting a big strain on already limited resources.

SonicWALL Global Management System (SonicWALL GMS) enables distributed enterprises and service providers to manage and monitor thousands of SonicWALL Internet security appliances from a central location with a powerful, flexible, and intuitive application. SonicWALL GMS delivers a cost-effective global security management solution that reduces staffing requirements, speeds up deployment, and lowers the cost of managing security services.

SonicWALL GMS gives administrators the integrated tools to manage all security policies and services throughout a large-scale, multiple policy enterprise or service provider environment. Administrators can easily configure SonicWALL firewall settings, deploy VPN to any user, and add SonicWALL upgrade and subscription services, such as Gateway Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Intrusion Prevention Service, Complete Anti-virus and Content Filtering Service with the click of a button.

Key Features & Benefits

- Centralized Secure Management. SonicWALL GMS enables network administrators to manage anywhere from a few to thousands of SonicWALL firewalls from a central location, and simplifies the task of globally defining and deploying a full range of specific or group security policies, services and upgrades. In addition to configuring the firewall settings, SonicWALL GMS also allows for deployment and configuration of firewall upgrade and subscription services such as anti-virus and content filtering.
- Managed VPN Services. SonicWALL GMS simplifies the task of globally defining, distributing, enforcing and deploying VPN policies for managed VPN gateways, keeping all remote sites in synch with the latest security policies. This also includes the VPN policies for mobile users who are connecting to a SonicWALL VPN gateway using the SonicWALL Global VPN Client.
- Centralized Reporting. SonicWALL GMS provides graphical reporting of firewall and network activities for the managed SonicWALL Internet security appliances. Network administrators can generate a wide range of informative real- time and historical reports to provide insight into usage trends and security events. Graphical reporting in based on the SonicWALL ViewPoint application.
- Active-Network Monitoring. Lowers maintenance costs, reduces network and system downtime and improves customer service by providing real-time active monitoring of both networks and systems. Net monitor includes VPN and device up/down status, latency monitoring, application monitoring, VPN monitoring, VPN statistics, uptime calculations, and security events for GMS management activities.
- Scalable Architecture. SonicWALL GMS provides a highly scalable architecture to support a growing network. The distributed architecture features built-in redundancy and load balancing to ensure network security, reliability, and efficient bandwidth distribution.
- Ease of Deployment and Management. SonicWALL GMS easily provisions Internet security appliances for management. The Command Line Interface allows the appliances to populate the management database without manual entry. With SonicWALL GMS, the network administrators can segment and distribute management responsibility among a group of individuals. Responsibilities can be assigned with specific multi-level access rights and privileges to the appliances. SonicWALL GMS also allows the network administrators to have multiple views of the appliances to simplify their management functions.
- Cost Effective. SonicWALL GMS delivers a cost-effective global management solution that reduces staffing requirements, speeds up deployment, and lowers the cost of delivering services by centralizing the management security policies.