Over the past 10 years I have worked on a multitude of routers /
firewalls. SonicWall is my absolute favorite. In operating
systems, I have switched around liking one over the other but in
firewalls, SonicWall has always been my champion.
One of the best features is you do not have to be a genius to
program the firewall. No memorizing long commands and perfect
syntax to be used in command line. There is a simple, easy to
understand GUI that is web based. Any computer with IE or Firefox
(no chrome support, yet) can connect and make changes.
The price is just awesome as well. We have had customers
request Cisco and I throw in a SonicWall quote to compare;
SonicWall wins hands down every time. The add-ons that people
crave like Intrusion Protection Service, Antivirus / Anitspyware
protection, and Content Filtering are very solid products with low
prices.
Wireless: SonicWall has you covered. My first sonicwall
wireless install was for a 3 story 15,000 square foot office
building. I placed the access point dead center vertically and
horizontally and I had the whole office covered. Not one single
dead zone. This was in 2005. Pretty much unheard of to cover that
much area for about $500. Recently we installed a much smaller
office with 4 access points, let’s just say the neighboring tenants
are now having trouble using their wireless because the SonicWalls
are broadcasting so well.
The two things that just bring it home for me are support and
reliability. When I call support, I do not wait that long and I
get knowledgeable people. This is not like calling a PC company
and everyone reads a script. In the reliability department, I have
installed hundreds of these units and the most common replaced
part, power adapters. In 10 years, I have sent 1 SonicWall back to
the manufacturer for replacement.
Everyone’s blood is blue until it hits oxygen, mine just happens
to be SonicWall blue.