Had to tap into my Sonicwall expert yesterday and this is what I learned. Some I knew some was new so I am sharing.
1) The Sonicwall TZ 170’s with older firmware are much more difficult to manage and do not handle licensing well.
2) Upgrading the Firmware on the Sonicwall TZ170s is worth it. Is this part of your patch process?
3) The bottom of the Sonicwall TZ 170 has a license number (10, 25, Unlimited), but that does not necessarily define the license.
4) A 25 license Sonicwall TZ 170 can be upgraded to unlimited.
5) The older Sonicwall TZ 170 firmware counts connections as opposed to IP addresses or nodes. Needless to say you can max out your connections and all of a sudden machines can’t get to the internet.
6) You want to pool and exclude devices that connect to the Sonicwall that do not need internet access, such as printers.
7) You want to make sure NOT to exclude the IP address of the Sonicwall, because it does need Internet access for updates.
8) To change the Vendor License on a sonic wall from one servicing technology company to another takes a turn-around time of 48 business hours, so solving this in crisis mode is not fun. Remember the client has no internet access on some machines so it is a crisis to them.
9) The new SonicWall TZ 170 firmware will list for you connections/nodes/IP addresses/LICENSES used and the ones available.
10) Being a generalist IT Professional does not mean you are a master of the Sonicwall firmware or it’s idiosyncrasies or anything else for that matter.
11) ASK your generalist what they love and make notes in your CRM system what they are really, really good at.. For instance my Sonicwall expert has gone to every Sonicwall conference for the last umpteen years, has been recognized as a Sonicwall gold partner, has installed thousands of the dang devices… etc. etc.
12) Know what you are an expert in. We are ALL generalist and must figure things out, but what do we know inside out and backwards without thinking too hard? Always good to share that…