• Secure Mobile Access
• About this Guide
  • Organization of this Guide
  • Guide Conventions
• About SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
  • About the SMA Appliance
  • Key SSL VPN Concepts and SMA Features
    • Resources
    • Users and Groups
    • Authentication
    • Communities
    • Access Policy
    • End Point Control (EPC)
    • SSL/TLS and Encryption
    • Single Sign-On
    • Sharing Configuration Data
    • Role-based Administration
    • System Monitoring and Logging
  • SonicWall SMA Components
    • Client Components and Access Methods
      • WorkPlace
      • Network Explorer
      • Connect Tunnel Clients
      • Mobile Connect App
      • Translated Web Access
      • Custom Port Mapping
      • Custom FQDN Mapping
    • End Point Control Components
    • Administrator Components
      • Setup Wizard
      • Appliance Management Console (AMC)
      • Access Services
  • Managing Multiple Appliances
    • Central Management Server
    • Global Traffic Optimizer
• Planning Your VPN
  • About Designing Your VPN
    • Who Will Access Your VPN?
    • Which Types of Resources Should Users Have Access To?
      • How Will Users Access Your Resources?
      • Tunnel, Proxy, or Web: Which Access Method is Best?
    • Security Administration
      • Defining Resources
        • Web Resources
        • Client/Server Resources
        • File Shares
      • Managing Access Control with an Access Policy
      • Access Control for Bi-Directional Connections
      • Design Guidelines for Access Rules
  • End Point Control
    • Advanced EPC
  • Putting It All Together: Using Realms and Communities
• Common VPN Configurations
  • About the Configurations
  • Deployment Scenario: Remote Access for Employees and Partners
    • Establishing an Authentication Realm
    • Identifying Users
    • Adding Resources
    • Creating Zones of Trust
      • Creating a Device Zone for Trusted Users
      • Creating a Device Zone for Partners
      • Creating a Quarantine Zone for Untrusted Users
  • Customizing WorkPlace
    • Modifying the Default Style and Layout
    • Creating a New WorkPlace Style and Layout
      • Creating a WorkPlace Style
      • Creating a Workplace Layout
    • Creating an Employee Community
      • Specifying Access Methods for Employees
      • Configuring End Point Control for Employees
      • Configuring the WorkPlace Appearance for Employees
    • Creating a Partner Community
      • Specifying an Access Method for Partners
      • Configuring End Point Control for Partners
      • Configuring WorkPlace Appearance for Partners
    • Access Control Lists
      • Adding a Rule for Limited Resources
      • Adding an Unrestricted Rule
  • Testing the Deployment Scenario
  • Other Remote Access VPN Scenarios
    • Providing Access to Web Resources
      • Defining Specific Web Resources
      • Web Resources on a Portion of Your Network
      • All Web Resources on Your Network
    • Web-Based File Access to Entire Networks
    • Broad Access to Network Resources
    • Remote Access for Mobile Users
  • Additional Partner VPN Scenarios
    • Access to a Specific Web Resource Using an Alias
    • Web-Based Access to a Client/Server Application
  • End Point Control Scenarios
    • Quarantining Employees on Untrusted Systems
    • Denying Access
  • Access Policy Scenarios
  • Application-Specific Scenarios
    • Providing Access to Outlook Web Access (OWA)
    • Providing Access to Voice Over IP (VoIP)
    • Providing Access to Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Resources
  • Authentication Scenarios
    • Using Multiple Realms vs Single Realm
  • Access Component Provisioning
    • Deploying the Same Agents to All Users
    • Deploying Different Agents to Different Users
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

Access Policy

An access policy is a set of rules that defines the applications or network resources that users or groups are given access to through the appliance.

Access to a resource can be based on several criteria. Most rules control access based on who the user is—that is, the user’s name or group membership—and the destination resource. You can use other criteria in access control rules, such as the access method for a resource, the user’s network address, the zone of trust, or the date and time of the connection request.

The appliance gives you wide latitude in creating access control rules, depending on whether your organization’s security policy is relatively permissive or demands stringent control. For example, if your VPN is accessed only by highly trusted employees who are using computers managed by your IT department, you could create an open access policy that defines your entire network domain as a resource and grants broad access to your employees.

Conversely, if you are providing access to a diverse group of users with varying degrees of access privileges, or who connect from less-secure devices such as public kiosks, you might use an access policy that defines individual resources and establishes more granular access requirements.

As the network changes over time, so should your access control rules.