What's New in SonicOS 7.1

The new features in SonicOS 7.1 include:

• DNS Filtering

  Introduces a significant update aimed at enhancing the security and efficiency of your online experience, including:

  • Safeguarding Against Malicious Websites: Proactively blocking access to known malicious domains through DNS filtering mitigates the risk of malware infections and other cyberattacks.
  • Enhancing Bandwidth: By blocking access to unnecessary or undesirable websites, it reduces bandwidth consumption and optimizes internet speeds
  • Filtering Inappropriate Content: DNS filtering delivers an additional layer of protection by blocking access to websites hosting explicit content, violence, or objectionable material.

• Content Filtering 5.0

  Introducing Content Filtering Engine 5.0 provides major enhancements:

  • Category Extension: Increases number and types of supported categories, resulting in improved categorization of websites.
  • Reputation-based blocking: Reputation-based URL blocking proactively identifies and blocks suspicious entities based on Reputation.

• Network Access Control Support

  SonicOS provides APIs so that NAC vendors can pass security context to SonicWall firewalls. Using the security context, SonicOS builds policies for mitigation actions, fetches dynamic user roles and other information from the NAC vendor to build information models and perform the traffic filtering. SonicOS can support multiple NAC servers from different vendors simultaneously.

• SonicWave AX Support

  SonicOS7.1 integrates SonicWave 600 Series Access Points with the firewall.

  If you have SonicWave 600 Series Access Points connected to a WLAN zone of a firewall configured with version 7.0.x and managed by WNM, the access points will be acquired by the firewall after updating the firewall to SonicOS 7.1. After upgrading the firewall, all WNM settings will no longer be available. To ensure seamless management, disable SonicPoint/SonicWave management on the WLAN zone.

• NSv Enhancements

  • NSv Base Updated from SonicCore to SonicCoreX

    This update introduces Secure Boot, Virtual TPM, and many performance enhancements.

  • NSV Bootstrapping

    SonicOS7.1 introduces a bootstrapping ability on NSvs that provide an agile, consistent, and scalable process for setting up NSv firewalls for mass deployments.

    Token-based Registration

    Token-Based Registration replaces the MySonicWall username and password in the bootstrap file with a string to automate mass deployments with basic configuration and licensing information. This also helps prevent misuse of MySonicWall credentials, which can be used for accessing information on other registered products with the same account.

  Upgrading to the 7.1 version of NSv requires that you deploy a new NSv installation and import backup settings and certificates exported from your current installation. For more information, see https://www.sonicwall.com/support/knowledge-base/231208132612487.

• Automatic Update Firmware Support

  This feature simplifies the process of keeping your firewall up-to-date with the latest firmware versions, patches, and security updates.

  This feature is not supported on NSsp 15700.

• Ability to store Threat/System Monitor, Audit Log, and Packet Capture files on an external storage module

  Use external storage to store System Logs, Threat Logs, AppFlow reporting data, and Packet Captures, ensuring that the historical data for these features remains even after a firewall restarts. You can also search the data saved on external storage.

  This feature is not supported on NSsp 15700.

• UI Monitor and Page Enhancements

  SonicOS7.1 introduces several user interface enhancements to improve its ease of use:

  • The Dashboard displays the details about the last License Manager Contact for License synchronization and signature updates.
  • A new Capture Labs icon is available on the Help Slider. When you click this icon, a new browser tab or window is opened that displays the SonicWall Capture Labs website.
  • The Objects and Rules relationship viewer provides a graphical representation of the security and access rules.
  • You can now use Global Search to search for values specified for objects and profiles.

• Policy Mode Enhancements

  • Intrusion Protection Service (IPS) Tuning Capabilities

    You can now selectively enable and disable specific Intrusion Protection Service rules.

    SonicOS7.1 allows administrators to bypass a specific set of IPS signatures from being checked, reducing false alarms by selectively disabling selected IPS signatures.

    On the Object > IPS Threat page, the IPS signatures are enabled by default. Disable the IPS signatures you want ignored without the system taking any action.

  • Gateway Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Threat Profile Support

    Administrators can now configure Anti-Spyware and Gateway Anti-Virus profiles as action profiles. Signatures can be configured so that they require verification for specific security policies while ignoring the other signatures. This enhancement eliminates unnecessary checks for known signatures.

  • Ability to enable Management tabs (HTTPS/PING/SSH) and Source (IP) on Interfaces

    SonicOS7.1 provides the ability to enable management service features such as HTTP, HTTPS, Ping, SNMP, and SSH, and to allow those services to be managed from a specific IP address object or a group on any interface.

  • Ability to view Anti-Spyware, Gateway Anti-Virus, and Intrusion Prevention Profile Objects

    SonicOS7.1 simplifies the rule creation and allows users to view all Objects and Profiles in a single page, regardless of their location within the application. The Object Viewer feature enables users to get a summary of the Objects and Profiles in the User Interface .If a searched object needs to be used in a Rule, users can simply drag and drop it into the appropriate dropdown menu in the Rule page, making it more convenient to find and select the desired object.

  • Shadow feature enhancements

    SonicOS7.1 extends the Shadow feature to work over a large number of policies or rules, adding the ability to edit a group of security rules, and to add rules above or below based on the location of an existing rule.

  • Improved filtering and searching

    SonicOS7.1 extends filtering and searching support by adding column-based filtering. The firmware version and serial number is now displayed on the side bar so that it is always visible.

• Active/Standby High Availability Support for SonicWall Capture Security Appliance

  • SonicOS7.1 provides the Active/Standby High Availability Support for the SonicWallCapture Security Appliance.

• Tooling Support Enhancements

  Several enhancements have been made to some diagnostics and reporting tools on the Tech Support Report page.

  • The layout was changed to add an Action section where you can download several different reports.
  • A tooltip was added for the Download System Logs button.
  • The System Logs file package includes event logs in CSV format.