Sonicwall Support services are as good as the support team who provides it. We have setup several hundred Sonicwall installs and we want to share some of the basics with you. More often than not, these Sonicwall support services are installed during a cable management project as displayed in the above rack picture of one of our more simplistic network or patch management setups. This will ensure the most optimal LAN and internet surfing experience. That being said, Sonicwall is not the easiest router to configure. We will try to help you through the initial rough patches to get your router going.
Additional Sonicwall Support Services Posts
- Sonicwall Router Port Forwarding and LAN WAN Rules Basics
- Troubleshooting Sonicwall Alerts and Notifications
Sonicwall Packages – Pricing
Sonicwall router without the listed packages is very limited. The IPS (Intrusion Prevention Service) is required for HIPAA compliance among other federal mandates. Sonicwall Support services pricing varies from 3rd party reseller to reseller. Make sure you configure these services once you get the Sonicwall going.
Sonicwall Activation Code(s)
Here are basic list of codes to activate a suite of service packages. Skip past if you already bought your comprehensive suite and received the activation code to apply to the new Sonicwall unit you received.
The Hardware
Our featured image is a low end Sonicwall. Make sure you get Sonicwall support services that are recommended for your network environment’s needs. Do you plan to purchase all of the above Sonicwall packages? I highly recommend you get a more robust Sonicwall than the Sonicwall illustrated in the picture. The Sonicwall TZ 300 Wireless has more processing power for handling service packages and more client load.
Network Setup
- Set a static IP on your NIC.
ProTip! Don’t set the gateway on the NIC. Simply use your WiFi adapter for accessing the internet while configuring your new Sonicwall router. - Connect to Sonicwall default settings https://192.168.168.168 admin\password
***Make sure your laptop is connected to the X0 interface
Laptop LAN NIC Settings
ProTip! – Sometimes there are security issues accessing from your latest browser. Download an old browser to get over this hurdle and immediately upgrade the firmware once in.
Sonicwall Interfaces
Make sure you are connected to the X0 interface when connecting for the first time and use the steps profile if you are loading settings from an old profile. Sonicwall will reboot after import. Reset you computer’s NIC to reflect the new settings and log back into the new default gateway.
192.168.168.5/24
Admin\password
Firmware Update and Config Files
Sometimes the firmware is too old to access the Sonicwall GUI console. Use an old version of Firefox Portable to access the console. Then update the firmware from there. Import configuration settings if you have a preferred configuration. Use this Sonicwall Support guide once you get in or simply reference the picture below.
Import previous configuration file
How to Update Firmware
Follow the Sonicwall Support Services illustration below for updating the Sonicwall router’s firmware.
WAN Interface
Double check you WAN IP settings. Sometimes goofy things happen like you thought you set the WAN IP for static and it’s actually DHCP. This will cause your site to site VPN tunnel to collapse.
Register Your Sonicwall
You won’t be able to use the security services unless you register your Sonicwall. SSL VPN and Global VPN won’t be able to connect because they are licensed features. Document your authentication code and serial number into your password management system and info sheet right now. Then go to mysonicwall.com to register your Sonicwall. Alternatively, adjust the WAN interface on the Sonicwall for DHCP and daisy chain the router off an existing network setup or LAN.
Merge WLAN and LAN Segments
Under your WLAN interface select Layer 2 Bridged Mode.
Also, WLAN or the embedded WiFi access point can be problematic. Ping 4.2.2.2 to confirm low latency and very limited packet loss. Otherwise, use the following Sonicwall WiFi post to troubleshoot potential problems and optimizing WiFi.
Common WiFi Optimization Settings and Wireless Stability Options
- Disable “Enable connection only from sonicpoints” under WLAN zone.
Quick Setup Checklist
You now have the basics setup but you now need to configure to resemble your old network setup or plan out a new network topology.
- Grab the legacy LAN setup information from the router and or your meticulous IT support documentation.
- Network ID
- DHCP scope
- IP Reservations
- Port Forwarding information
ProTip! Make sure the server is not hosting DNS and DHCP scope and if so adjust your Sonicwall router settings accordingly. - Access Point SSID (maybe add an S to the new SSID to differentiate from the old one)
- Apply this network setup information to the new Sonicwall router.
- Did you change the Admin password?
- Did you update firmware?
- Did you backup and save the configuration file?
- Did you confirm LAN and WAN connectivity works for everyone?
- Did you enable Geo-IP filter if option available?
- Notifications
- Ask for an email that is not associated with someone’s professional mailbox for using as notification for Sonicwall security messages or notifications. This mailbox can be a gmail to save on mailbox subscriptions. 9 out of 10 times someone already setup a generic email for something.
Additional Sonicwall Support Services Posts
Password Recover for Sonicwall
Often times, we come into situations where the client does not know their password for the Sonicwall. Here are some helpful resources to get you through this scenario. Often times, we can’t recover the password, there is no backup configuration file, and we have to perform a factory reset. This requires a complete reconfiguration of the firewall settings for that particular environment.
You can reset the SonicWALL to its factory default state to regain access to the appliance and redefine your administrative credentials, if applicable.
- Connect a client to the SonicWALL via Ethernet. Press “Windows-W” and enter “ip” (without the quotations) into the search field.
- Select “View Network Connections.” Double-click “Ethernet,” then “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).”
- Select “Use the Following IP Address.” Enter “192.168.168.20” (without the quotations) into the IP Address field and “255.255.255.0” (without the quotations) into the Subnet Mask field. Click “OK.”
- Unfold a paperclip and insert the end of the object into the hole where the reset button resides. The hole is located on the back of the appliance, usually positioned by the power switch or indicator lights.
- Push and hold the reset button for 10 seconds, then navigate to “http://192.168.168.168” in a web browser to reconfigure the appliance.
- Click the boot icon by “Current Firmware with Factory Default Settings” to restore the SonicWALL to its original configuration.
Popular Sonicwall Support Services Resources
- Dual WAN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWFdC-or4F0 - Sonicwalll Failover
https://youtu.be/g5_WPWxNnJ4
Monitoring Traffic
This is a crucial but often under utilized feature for troubleshooting problems. For instance, below we setup the monitoring of traffic for a copier that is trying to deliver email scans of PDFs but won’t send. It turned out to be the DNS settings of the copier but here’s some basic settings for monitoring traffic.
Add TCP and UDP to IP type if you want to monitor that specific traffic and kick off start capture.
Start Capture.
Sonicwall Support Services Summary
I’ll update this guide as we post more real life scenarios for helping your cause but hopefully this post should get you going in the right direction.
Additional Sonicwall Support Services Posts
- Sonicwall Router Port Forwarding and LAN WAN Rules Basics
- Troubleshooting Sonicwall Alerts and Notifications
