Recommended Migration Steps

The following steps outline the recommended process for migrating to a SonicOS 8 firewall.

1. Confirm Compatibility – Verify that the source device and firmware are supported for migration to SonicOS 8. Refer to Understanding Your Migration Options.

2. Check for Unsupported Interfaces Some interface types are not directly supported during in‑product migration, such as VLAN, tunnel, or WLAN configurations. Use the NSM migration application to eliminate the need to manually recreate policies and automatically processes VLAN, WLAN tunnel, and tunnel interfaces. It converts configurations into formats compatible with SonicOS 8 firewalls.

   For more information, refer to SonicWall Gen 8 TZ and NSa Settings Migration and How to use the NSM firewall migration application.

3. Import to SonicOS 8 Device – The SonicOS 8 TZ and NSa firewalls support in-product migration. It allows you to import .exp configuration files from supported legacy devices simply by selecting current and previous generation SonicWall firewalls.

4. Validate the Configuration – After migration, thoroughly validate the configuration.

   1. Connectivity:

      • LAN/WAN access

      • NAT translations

      • VPN tunnels

   2. Authentication:

      • LDAP / RADIUS / SSO

   3. Performance:

      • CPU, memory, and flow counts

   4. Logging and monitoring (NSM / local logs).