If you take anything from this NSa 5800 review, I want you to understand the real power behind the SonicWall Gen 8 hardware. Not just a list of specs, although important, this is just the surface of what the NSa 5800 has to offer.
Built for the needs of medium- to large-scale enterprises, it can easily support anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 users. Nevertheless, this article looks into many technical angles of this NSa SonicWall firewall and how they match up to the needs of your operation.
Key Takeaways:
- Supports business network environments with approximately 2,500 to 5,000 users
- Delivers up to 30 Gbps of firewall inspection throughput
- Combines advanced threat prevention with app and network security controls
- Includes TLS 1.3 inspection and decryption at up to 8 Gbps
- Provides SD-WAN, centralized management, VPN support, and much more
NSa 5800 Review Inside and Out
In the full scope of the SonicWall NSa series, the 5800 is just one of many great options you can choose from. However, this particular model hits a sweet spot for many organizations out there. How are you able to discern if your business network fits the bill? That comes down to a cross-review of firewall specs, features, and the real-world state of your own network.
Here are a few important surface-level details to help get you started:
- Threat Prevention: Uses RFDPI, RTDMI, and Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
- Identifies and blocks advanced threats, including zero-day and encrypted threats
- Security Services: Includes app control, URL filtering, DNS Security, Geo-IP, and Botnet services
- Adds multiple layers of traffic filtering, app control, and threat detection
- Encrypted Traffic: Supports TLS 1.3 inspection and decryption
- Allows the firewall to inspect encrypted traffic for evasive threats
- VPN & Zero Trust: Includes site-to-site VPN, remote-access VPN, and Cloud Secure Edge Connector
- Provides secure connectivity while supporting Zero Trust access to private apps
The target environment for the NSa 5800 are definitely for larger operations. In the same vein, I want to highlight that it’s great for distributed networks as well. You’re also getting a seamless experience through the centralized management. Overall, this is a unified management enterprise-grade firewall that’s built for the future of network security.
SonicWall NSa 5800 Specs and Hardware Overview
The NSa 5800 is built for the needs of enterprise operations, and this can be seen from more than just throughput capability. User support is impressive on its own, and the Gen 8 firewall only gets more impressive the more you learn about it. Take a quick peek at the table below to get a fuller picture of this NSa 5800 review.
| Specifications | SonicWall NSa 5800 |
|---|---|
| Firewall Throughput | 30 Gbps |
| Threat Prevention Throughput | 24 Gbps |
| App Inspection Throughput | 24 Gbps |
| IPS Throughput | 24 Gbps |
| TLS/SSL Inspection and Decryption Throughput | 8 Gbps |
| IPsec VPN Throughput | 21 Gbps |
| Max Concurrent Connections (SPI) | 8 million |
| Max Connections per Second | 240,000 |
| Interfaces | 24 x 1 GbE 8 x 10G SFP+ 1 x Console 2 x USB |
While this is definitely a good starting point, getting aligned with the right firewall model considers more than just spec numbers. Understanding the security features is the other side of this conversation.
SonicWall Enterprise Grade Firewall Security Features
As you might expect at this point, it’s safe to assume the NSa 5800 comes pretty stacked with security features. From RFDPI to RTDMI, Zero-Day protection, and Cloud App security, the list gets pretty long.
Having this kind of layered security is how you stay one step ahead of modern-day threats, which are more aggressive than ever. Another upside to taking a proactive stance like this is that it gives you the room you need to scale your operations and network infrastructure.
Malware Analysis and Threat Prevention
If it’s one thing I can’t leave out of this NSa 5800 review, it’s the threat protection capabilities. Designed to address a range of cyber risks, the 5800 supports RFDPI, Capture ATP, TLS/SSL inspection, and decryption. In addition to that, the malware analysis doesn’t only focus on advanced malware itself, but also supports protection against any threat that can evade basic security measures.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Capture ATP uses cloud-based sandboxing, which analyzes suspicious content while supporting detection of advanced threats. In short, this is an easy way to beef up your security strategy.
Application, Network and Cloud Security
The widespread use of third-party tech is commonplace in any modern business nowadays. As great as that is for day-to-day operations and efficiency, it opens many new doors for cyber threats to walk right into.
Of course, this is only the case if you aren’t working with layered network protection. Through the 5800’s application control, you can manage and apply security policies to app traffic across the entire network.
Moreover, you can’t forget about the Geo-IP, Botnet, DNS security, and URL filtering services. Considering everything larger enterprises have to manage on a daily basis, if these security layers sound like overkill, that’s a good thing for you.
NSa 5800 Licensing and Deployment Considerations
At the core of this NSa 5800 review, it helps to remember that this firewall model is built for internet-edge deployments. However, this also includes support for the needs of distributed enterprise environments. While that’s great and all, it’s equally important to understand that your licensing approach can affect what you get out of the 5800.
To simplify your understanding of this, you can either go hardware-only or go the route of additional security services based on tiered licenses. The good news here is that there’s no shortage of options, so it’s very easy to find something that’s close to your network demands and budget scope.
The Final Verdict
Out of the many firewall reviews you could find online, I aimed to give you an actionable approach here. Your next steps are to take this information and size it up to the real-world demands of your business network.
Performance and features speak for themselves here. Now it’s time to get aligned with the hardware for smooth implementation. Don’t hesitate to work with our team at Firewalls.com for the hardware, setup, and managed support your network needs to scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Users Can the SonicWall NSa 5800 Support?
The NSa 5800 is rated for approximately 2,500 to 5,000 users.
What is the NSa 5800 Firewall Throughput Capable Of?
This particular model delivers up to 30 Gbps of firewall throughput.
Can the NSa 5800 Inspect Encrypted Traffic?
Yes, the 5800 model supports TLS/SSL inspection and decryption, including inspection of TLS 1.3 traffic.
What Security Features Does the NSa 5800 Offer?
Its security capabilities include RFDPI, RTDMI, Capture ATP cloud sandboxing, malware analysis, app control, URL filtering, DNS Security, Geo-IP, and Botnet services.
Is the NSa 5800 Suitable for Distributed Enterprise Networks?
Most definitely, as the NSa 5800 supports crucial features like SD-WAN, centralized management, VPN connectivity, and comes with eight 10 GbE SFP+ interfaces.
