Sonic System vs NetScreen

Company Background

General Information

Sonic Systems is a provider of network technology for many schools, small to mid-sized companies. Sonic Systems designs, manufactures and markets easy-to-use and affordable Internet appliances. Sonic Internet appliances provide security and Internet access for Local Area Networks (LANs) and remote users. All Sonic Internet appliance are managed via an intuitive Web browser interface.

Product Comparison

Description SonicWALL SonicWALL Plus SonicWALL Plus DMZ SonicWALL PRO NetScreen-10 NetScreen-100
Dimension 8"W x 1.5"H x 4.25"D 8.875"W x 1.5"H x 6"D 8.875"W x 1.5"H x 6"D 19"W x 1.75"H x 8.5"D 17.5"W x 2.06"H x 10.8"D 17.5"W x 2.06"H x 10.8"D
Weight 1 pound 1.25 pounds 1.25 pounds 6 pounds 8 pounds 8 pounds
Hardware MC 68360 CPU MC 68360 CPU MC 68360 CPU 233 MHz StrongARM RISC CPU Integrated circuit board with PowerPC processor Integrated circuit board with Motorola RISC processor
Memory 4 MB RAM 4 MB RAM 4 MB RAM 8 MB RAM, expandable to 64 MB via DIMM 32 MB SDRAM 64 MB SDRAM
serial port None None None DB-9 serial port DB-15 console port DB-15 console port
Flash Memory 2 MByte 2 MByte 2 MByte 2 MByte, expandable to 8MB via SIMM 4 MByte 4 MByte
PCMCIA card slot None None None None 1 Type II PCMCIA 1 Type II PCMCIA
PCI Card Slot None None None 8" PCI slot with 33MHz None None
Network Interface Two 10BaseT ports Two 10BaseT ports Three 10BaseT ports Three 10/100BaseT ports Three 10BaseT ports Three autosensing 10/100BaseT ports
Operating System proprietary operating system called Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) proprietary operating system called Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) proprietary operating system called Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) proprietary operating system called Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) Proprietary Operating System Proprietary Operating System
Price
  • SonicWALL/10 $495 (supports 10 nodes on the LAN); yearly CyberNOT list $175
  • SonicWALL/50 $995 (supports 50 nodes on the LAN); yearly CyberNOT list $495
$1495 (supports unlimited nodes on the LAN); yearly CyberNOT list $695 $2195 (supports unlimited nodes on the LAN); yearly CyberNOT list $695 $3195 $11,000 to 12,000 (1 year HW warranty included), Unlimited user licenses $23,600 to 25,600 (1 year HW warranty included), Unlimited user licenses
Support Service
  • FAQ and patches available for the public
  • Support contract available
  • 8:30a-5:30p PST M-F phone support
Same as SonicWALL Same as SonicWALL Same as SonicWALL
  • FAQ, software update and patches available to registered end users
  • Email
  • 8-6 PST M-F phone support
Same as NetScreen-10

Feature Comparison

Feature Sonic Systems NetScreen
Firewall Technology Stateful Packet Inspection Algorithm
  • Dynamic Stateful Packet Filtering
  • Circuit-Level Proxies
Installation Procedure
  • Web Interface thru HTTP
  • Optional SonicInstall
    • Command line interface thru serial console
    • Web interface thru HTTP
    Operation Mode
    • Network Address Translation
    • Transparent
    • Network Address Translation
    DMZ interface Yes with SonicWALL Plus DMZ and SonicWALL PRO only Yes
    Administration Interface
    • Web Interface
    • Command line interface thru serial console
    • Network connection with TELNET
    • Network connection with Web Interface to built-in Web Server
    • Secured network connection through IPSec VPN tunnel
    • Central Management System software
    Administrator Account One
    • Password for Administrator Account
    		One
    • Username and password with Read Write privilege
    Authentication
    • None
    • Built-in authentication server supports up to 1600 users
    • RADIUS-compliant authentication servers
    • NT Domain User database support thru RADIUS
    • SecureID (1.6)
    Outgoing Addressing Scheme Network Addressing Translation Network Addressing Translation
    Incoming Addressing Scheme
  • None
    		• Two methods:
    • IP Mapping (one-to-one mapping) for all services
    • Virtual IP (one-to-many mapping) for HTTP, HTTPS, TELNET, FTP, SMTP and POP3
    Logging
    • Built-in log file
    • Built-in log file
    • Syslog
    • WebTrend syslog support (1.6)
    • Management System (1.6)
    Notification/Alert
  • Email to 1 specific email address
    • Email to 2 specific email addresses
    Firewall Attack
  • Detect SYN attack
  • Detect Ping of Death
  • Detect IP Spoofing
  • Detect Tear Drop attack
    • Detect SYN Attack
    • Detect Tear Drop Attack
    • Detect Ping of Death Attack
    • Detect IP Spoofing Attack
    • Default Packet Deny
    • Filter IP Source Route Option
    • Java/Active X Blocking
    URL Blocking
    • built-in from CyberNOT
    • weekly content filter list can be subscribed from MicroSystem Software for a yearly fee.
    		Additional Cost - WebSense by NetPartners
    Content Filtering Additional Cost Built-in Java/Active X Blocking
    SNMP Support None MIB-II Support
    Traffic Shaping None Included
    Load Balancing None Included with 100
    Redundancy None Yes with 100
    VPN Support IETF IPSec
    • built-in with SonicWALL PRO only with
      • ARCFour (ARC4) and DES
    • Upgrade option for other models
    		Support IETF IPSec with
    • Key Management
      • IKE with preshared keys
      • manual key management
    • Encryption Algorithm
      • 40-bit DES
      • 56-bit DES
      • 128-bit Triple DES (US version only)
    • Authentication Algorithm
      • HMAC MD5
      • HMAC SHA-1 (1.6)
    VPN Remote Client Note available for sale separately
    • supports IETF IPSec
    • supports 56-bit DES
    • available in 95/98/NT
    Central Management None NS-Global Management System
    Performance Unknown Network InterOp KeyLabs Firewall Test:
    • Best performance number at 64 clients
    • 4123.3 connections/sec
    • Best price/performance ratio
    • Low latency
    ICSA Certified Yes Yes
    Year 2000 Compliance Yes Yes
    Award Magazine Reviews, no specific award
    • KeyLabs' Top Honors for ease of configuration and price/performance ratio.
    • Tester's Choice Award from Data Communication for traffic management feature on 11/98
    • Tester's Choice Award from Data Communitcaion for Super Firewall feature on 5/99

    Sonic Systems Weakness & NetScreen Strength

      Sonic Systems Weakness NetScreen Strength
    Memory Most of the models have base memory of 4MB. Memory can be a major bottleneck NetScreen's amount of memory starts from 32MB
    Authentication Built-in user database only supports up to 100 users and there is no support for RADIUS Built-in user database supports up to 1600 entries and there is support for RADIUS
    Firewall Performance Maximum 6 Mbps Wirespeed for both NS-10 (10 Mbps) and NS-100 (100 Mbps)
    Audit and Logging Limited log messages Support Syslog and WebTrend for detailed traffic and Event analysis
    Simultaneous Connections 8 VPN sessions for Sonic Wall, Maximum 2,048 for Sonic Pro 4,000 with NS-10 and 32,000 with NS-100
    VPN Upgrade Cost Cost starts from $495 Built-in function; no upgrade is necessary
    Triple DES Encryption Algorithm None Yes