The TZ 150 is the smallest device in SonicWall’s range of SME-targeted appliances, said Kevin Thiele, managing director of the Sunnyvale, California-based ISV’s UK subsidiary. SonicWall announced gateway AV scanning as part of version 3.0 of its SonicOS operating system at the end of November, saying it would be available across both the TZ and Pro series, the latter targeted at the enterprise space.
Until now, gateway AV products from companies such as Trend and Symantec have been too expensive for SMEs, said Thiele, adding that SonicWall has previously offered only network-enforced desktop AV. Now in addition to code on the desktop, we’re able to scan protocols such as HTTP for web traffic, FTP for file transfers, and IMAP for IM.
Thiele said the underlying technology for the gateway AV offering is the same as SonicWall’s proprietary IPS engine. All our scanning technology is our own, using our and other people’s signatures, and unlike the competition, it’s not limited in the size of file it can handle, he said.
SonicWall started life as a firewall/VPN vendor for small businesses, and is now pursuing a two-pronged strategy, launching low-priced, multi-function appliances for the SME space, and higher-priced single-function devices for enterprises. Last month it launched its first product in the latter category, the CMS 2100CF content filtering box, which retails for $2,800.
