SonicWall Sets Its Sights On Network Traffic Analytics

Later this month, SonicWall will take the wraps off its new Application Traffic Analytics software suite, which consists of Global Management System (GMS) version 7.0; Scrutinizer, a reporting tool for measuring network performance and bandwidth utilization; and Analyzer, a new analytics tool for SonicWall firewalls and backup and recovery appliances that's targeted at the SMB market.

At SonicWall's Peak Performance conference in Palm Springs, Calif. earlier this week, Patrick Sweeney, vice president of product management and corporate marketing at SonicWall, said while it has taken some time to roll out, SonicWall now fully grasps the importance of visualization and analytics.

"Policy and management wraps around everything," Sweeney said at the event. "SonicWall has previously dipped its toes in the water, but now you're going to see us put our whole body in the water, creating logical synergies between the endpoints on the network and firewalls controlling all the packets going out on the network."

SonicWall Scrutinizer, which is re-branded through an OEM partnership with Plixer, handles application traffic analysis of IPFIX/NetFlow data that flows through SonicWall firewalls as well as reporting for routers, switches and firewalls from other vendors that support IPFIX/NetFlow, according to Sweeney.

"Scrutinizer looks at what's below the waterline that we need to understand and provides details inside the network to help us understand the good, bad and the ugly," he said. "What's beautiful about Scrutinizer is that it's not just about SonicWall products, but the ecosystem of products found in heterogeneous networks. It allows you to determine exactly what's going on in the network."

Deepak Thadani, president of SysIntegrators, a Woodside, N.Y.-based SonicWall partner, says the addition of analytics will help address the increasingly complex security requirements of customers. "Deeper analysis of network traffic is critical to help troubleshoot problems and to help optimize bandwidth utilization," he said.

With the release of GMS 8.0 next year, SonicWall will add a hosted version of GMS that will feature self-provisioning, single sign-on, live upgrade and a host of other features, Sweeney said at the event.

"This will allow to provide a completely cloud-based infrastructure," Sweeney said. "We're bringing it to market so that anyone, from 5 to 5,000 units under management, can get up and running quickly."

SonicWall Scrutinizer is available now and is priced starting at $3,495. SonicWall Analyzer and SonicWall Global Management System Version 7.0 will be available in November, with GMS maintaining its current pricing and Analyzer starting at $125 for TZ Series products.