Unsupported Features (with Post-Migration Actions)

Certain features and configurations from legacy SonicWall firewalls are not supported on SonicOS 8 and therefore, cannot be migrated using in‑product migration. When unsupported elements exist in the source configuration, migration may result in skipped settings, partial imports, or the need for manual remediation.

In such scenarios, using the NSM migration application is strongly recommended. The NSM migration application is specifically designed to address migration limitations by providing a more comprehensive and streamlined migration experience. It simplifies firewall hardware upgrades by reliably migrating supported configurations—such as security policies, interfaces, VPNs, and other core firewall settings—while eliminating the need for extensive manual reconfiguration. For detailed steps, see How to use the NSM firewall migration application.

Unsupported features are automatically excluded from the migration and can be handled separately through source configuration cleanup and/or targeted post‑migration configuration. By leveraging the NSM migration application, administrators can significantly reduce migration complexity, minimize risk, and ensure a smoother transition when in‑product migration is not feasible.

The table below summarizes the unsupported features, explains how each behaves during migration, and outlines the actions administrators must take before or after migration.

Unsupported Feature	Migration Behavior	Administrator Action – After Migration
Wiremode/Tapmode (TZ80)	TZ80 does not support Wiremode or Tapmode. These configurations are not imported.	Disable Wiremode/Tapmode on the source firewall and convert interfaces to routed mode prior to migration.
Internal Wireless Configuration (hardware limitation)	Wireless settings from legacy devices are not imported except for TZ280W and TZ380W. For these two models: the currently configured band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) is preserved; the other band resets to defaults.	For non‑wireless SonicOS 8 models (e.g., TZ80), manually recreate wireless settings if needed. For TZ280W/TZ380W, review and adjust the band if not preserved during migration.
PoE Configuration (hardware limitation)	If the source firewall supports PoE (for example, TZ570P) and the target SonicOS 8 model does not support, all PoE‑related settings are dropped.	Reconfigure PoE settings manually after migration on supported platforms (power mode, priority, scheduling).
Advanced Switching	TZ80 does not support Advanced Switching features. These configurations are skipped.	This feature is supported for other SonicOS 8 models. Reconfigure Advanced Switching manually if needed.
Dell Switch Integration	TZ80 does not support Dell Switch Integration. These configurations are skipped.	This feature is supported for other SonicOS 8 models. Reconfigure switching integrations manually if needed.
VLAN, WLAN Tunnel, or other tunnel interfaces	VLAN and tunnel interfaces prevent in‑product migration for non‑full‑match configurations. Migration cannot proceed.	Use the NSM migration application, which automatically processes VLAN, WLAN tunnel, and other tunnel interfaces into SonicOS 8 compatible formats.
GMS Configurations	GMS‑specific settings are not migrated.	Use NSM (Network Security Manager) for centralized management with enhanced capabilities.
CFS 3.0 (replaced by CFS 5.0)	CFS 3.0 policies are not migrated.	Manually configure content filtering policies using CFS 5.0 on the SonicOS 8 firewall. For more details, see Configuring CFS Policies and Rules.
High Availability (HA) control interfaces	When migrating from a Gen 5 device, the HA control interface may not map correctly or synchronize.	Reconfigure the HA control interface manually after migration.
Certificates (must be exported/imported separately)	SSL certificates (VPN, DPI SSL, management, and user auth) are not migrated automatically.	Export certificates from the source firewall and re-import them on the target SonicOS 8 device. Rebind certificates to services such as DPI‑SSL or VPN.
VPN	When migrating from a SonicOS 5 device, the interface it is bound to may lose interface bindings.	Manually rebind VPN policies to appropriate SonicOS 8 interfaces after migration.
IP-Helper	When migrating from a SonicOS 5 device, some IP-Helper policies configuration may be lost.	Reassign IP‑Helper policies to the correct target interfaces.
Syslog server configurations	When migrating from a SonicOS 5 device, some configuration may be lost. Syslog destinations are bound to interfaces that no longer exist.	Verify syslog settings after migration and rebind syslog servers to valid SonicOS 8 interfaces.
Port Redundancy	Port redundancy models differ between legacy devices and SonicOS 8 devices.	Recreate port redundancy manually on the SonicOS 8 firewall using supported interface models.
Advanced BWM	Advanced BWM rules are not migrated.	Reconfigure manually on the SonicOS 8 firewall. For more details, see How can I configure bandwidth management?
L3 Link Aggregation	Link aggregation models differ across generations.	After migration, manually configure L3 link aggregation using SonicOS 8 supported methods.

The NSM firewall migration application automatically imports all supported settings. After migration, review the migration summary to identify any missing or manually required configurations to ensure full operational readiness on the SonicOS 8 device.