I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack.
We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices.
Our clients are typically smaller SMBs.
SonicWall SMA provides fast and secure remote access, serving remote desktop needs with flexibility and ease of management. Its proprietary technologies assure reliable performance and integration capabilities, ideal for scalable and diverse environments.


| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| SonicWall SMA | 39.7% |
| Citrix Gateway | 39.7% |
| Other | 20.599999999999994% |
| Title | Rating | Mindshare | Recommending | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks | 4.1 | N/A | 92% | 65 interviewsAdd to research |
| Fortinet FortiClient | 4.0 | N/A | 92% | 102 interviewsAdd to research |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 10 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 2 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 79 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 25 |
| Large Enterprise | 59 |
Renowned for its efficient remote desktop options and robust security features, SonicWall SMA is designed to streamline secure connections to internal networks. It supports home offices, mobile integrations, and multisite connectivity. Its management tools and setup ease ensure seamless operations, bolstered by advanced threat protection and endpoint control. Compatibility with federal markets adds to its scalability. Suggestions for improvement include refining menu structures, pricing competitiveness, and enhanced security like multifactor authentication, improved network handling, and better support services.
What are key features of SonicWall SMA?SonicWall SMA's secure VPN connections are crucial for industries needing robust data protection. Cooperative banks leverage it for safe access to core banking systems. Service providers rely on it to secure web and desktop applications for clients.
SonicWall SMA was previously known as SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access.
| Author info | Rating | Review Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Owner at ThinkEzIT | 4.5 | I've used SonicWall SMA for 10 years to support VPN needs for SMB clients. It's easy to configure, boosts security, and offers great support, though pricing could be better. I rate it 8.5 and recommend it. |
| Chief Commercial Officer at InnovAge Home Care | 5.0 | I use SonicWall SMA to enable and secure remote access for our workforce. While it effectively protects resources, it would benefit from improved live tracking capabilities to monitor user activity in real-time. Previously, we relied on Cyberoam for similar functions. |
| Project Manager at CGG | 3.5 | I find SonicWall SMA reliable for VPN, offering easy scalability and setup with built-in MFA. However, its reporting is poor, and the login mechanism needs significant improvement, especially for RDB performance. |
| General Manager at Antea Consulting | 4.0 | I rate SonicWall SMA an 8/10 as an affordable, functional, and scalable remote access solution. While stable, it needs improved enterprise support with a global vision and better integration with other products. |
| Penetration tester at a tech services company with 1-10 employees | 3.5 | I use SonicWall SMA primarily for remote desktop access from various locations as a VPN solution. It offers reliability and solid performance, though it's challenging to navigate. Compared to the more user-friendly OpenVPN, SonicWall lacks easy network access. |
| Technical Support Engineer at Ingram Micro Sp. z o.o. | 5.0 | I find this very stable, flexible, and easy-to-deploy VPN solution excellent for LDP/MyLab connections, offering good performance and support. While I'd like Bookmark keyboards polished, I highly recommend it. |
| Consultant at a media company with 51-200 employees | 4.0 | I found SonicWall SMA a stable, reliable, and well-priced solution for WFH, especially with AWS. Setup was easy, and it's simple to use. I'd like true MFA and centralized management, but I rate it 8/10. |
| Director at vatanix | 3.5 | As a system integrator, I've used SonicWall SMA for 13 years. I'm satisfied with its stability and support, rating it 7/10. My main issue is needing a consolidated management interface with client systems. |
| Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd. | 4.5 | I've used this solution for a year. I'm happy with its fair price, stability, and support. My main concerns are the user interface and the lack of a cloud option. I rate it 9/10. |
| Technical Support Engineer at Ingram Micro Sp. z o.o. | 5.0 | I use SonicWall SMA for VPN and mobile access, appreciating its fast load balancing and easy setup. It's very scalable, though timed synchronization needs improvement. I highly recommend it, rating it a perfect ten. |
I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack.
We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices.
Our clients are typically smaller SMBs.
Some of the best features of SonicWall SMA are that it's easy to configure, they're FedRAMP certified so they work in the federal market, and it's a good product.
The advanced threat protection and the endpoint control features of SonicWall SMA have helped improve security measures tremendously. It's an autonomous firewall, so it's always thinking. It isn't a standalone firewall where it has to be either on or off. SonicWall SMA scans all the traffic and verifies if it's good or bad. It gives false positives sometimes, but I'd rather it do that than not.
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to.
I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, as I haven't been looking at what they're releasing. We're a small shop, so we drop stuff in and manage it and do what we need to do to maintain it. If we run into an issue, we contact support. There's a learning curve, but it comes down to getting support to train you on the product, and then once you have the training you need, you're able to make the changes and updates that you need to.
I have used SonicWall SMA for about 10 years.
The SonicWall SMA has helped simplify deployment for our remote access solutions.
For deploying remote access solutions, it has a feature where you deploy it and it auto-configures. As long as you have it configured correctly, you can ship it to where you need to and install it.
The support at SonicWall is wonderful; if you run into a bind, they're able to help you.
I would rate their support a nine and a half on a scale of one to 10.
The pricing for the solution could be a lot less.
Between SonicWall SMA and Untangle, the main differences are that I prefer the autonomous way SonicWall SMA works. Untangle doesn't have an SMA appliance per se. SonicWall SMA is also FedRAMP certified, meaning it lets you get into the federal market, whereas Untangle is not a FedRAMP product. Having the SonicWall brand opens doors because it's a well-known brand; even end users who aren't computer-savvy know the name, so it has brand recognition.
We have implemented multi-factor authentication to secure remote connections, and it's very easy to deploy.
It locks down access effectively, and 2FA is what everybody's using now, so it keeps everything secure and locked down.
I would recommend SonicWall SMA to others because it keeps the client secure. Anything to make the client secure, and if you're utilizing SonicWall SMA in your stack already, everything plays together really nicely.
On a scale of one to ten, I rate SonicWall SMA an 8.5.

SonicWall SMA facilitates and protects remote workforce access to corporate resources from any location.
Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface.
We have been using SonicWall SMA for three months.
I rate the platform's stability a ten out of ten.
We have 100 SonicWall SMA users in our organization and we utilize it daily. I rate the product's scalability a ten out of ten.
We used Cyberoam earlier.
The initial setup was straightforward for basic configurations, taking only a few minutes. However, more complex setups could take three to four hours. It can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. I rate the process a ten out of ten.
We implemented the product with the help of our in-house team.
The platform has medium pricing.
The platform has secure access to resources with rate-wise automation and readiness for reporting and testing.
Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security. It is easy to manage and adapt to an organization's evolving requirements.
I rate it a ten out of ten.

We use SonicWall SMA to provide VPN. Our use is limited right now. We only have 200 users.
SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user.
SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth.
We've been using SonicWall SMA for between two and three years.
SonicWall is reliable.
Scaling up SonicWall is easy because it's a virtual solution.
I rate SonicWall support eight out of 10. It's good.
Positive
SonicWall SMA isn't complex. I rate it eight out of 10 for ease of setup. The more features a solution has, the more complex it is. Any administrator can do it.
The price is in the middle range.
I rate SonicWall SMA seven out of 10. If you're planning to implement this solution, I suggest checking the version to ensure it's compatible with your other technology. I say go for it if it's suitable for your use case.
Multifactor authentication technologies are built into the product, whereas some products lack multifactor authentication. We need only one or two. They provide authentication, gateway integration, OTP integration, etc.
The main use case for SonicWall SMA is remote access.
What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional.
My company uses SonicWall SMA mainly in distributed networks, and for that purpose, the product is okay, so I don't see any room for improvement in the product itself. SonicWall SMA is okay.
The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers. Normally enterprises and SMBs can create a ticket, but for enterprises, SonicWall SMA needs to provide a global view, and this is what's currently missing. It's not even a question of timing. It's a question of the global vision because currently, it's lacking. They concentrate on the topic, but not on the means and not on the global picture. In most cases, there's something wrong with the integration of SonicWall SMA with other products, so that could also be improved.
SonicWall SMA has two different types: one for SMBs and one for enterprises, so they fit and cover the whole spectrum very well. It can fit any organization and can fit any purpose. The product is full of features and can cover the full spectrum very well, so I don't see any key feature that's missing that could be included in its next release.
My company started working with SonicWall in the year 2000, so it's been twenty two years.
SonicWall SMA is a stable product.
SonicWall SMA is very scalable, in general. It's very well implemented, and it's very simple to scale the number of users from one hundred to five hundred, but scaling up would affect the licensing cost.
For my company, the initial setup and implementation of SonicWall SMA are easy because of working with SonicWall for a long time, and because my team has a lot of experience with the solution. If the customer chooses to do the setup and implementation himself, it won't be as easy. If it's just basic integration, it can be very simple, but if it's something more sophisticated, you need to be a real expert to set up and implement SonicWall SMA. I'm scoring the basic setup of the solution a four out of five.
My company deals with, proposes, and implements to customers all the SonicWall solutions: SonicWall TZ, SonicWall NSa, and SonicWall SMA. My company is a reseller of SonicWall.
In terms of the differences between SonicWall SMA and other solutions, this is a very mature market, and there are not so many differences, but what can be perceived are the differences between open-source and commercial solutions, mainly because you have the manufacturer taking care of the evolution of the product. Otherwise, you need to be very close to an expert to be able to evolve your installation, but between different commercial solutions, frankly speaking, there are not so many differences.
Choosing SonicWall SMA over other solutions is a question of having more knowledge about the solution. For my company, the difference is the experience, for example, when my company proposes SonicWall SMA to a customer, that customer knows that my company will do a very good job. He knows that he'll get a very solid installation, not only because of SonicWall SMA, but because of my team, so it's a mix of the solution and my company's experience.
SonicWall SMA is a product I would recommend to others, for example, to use as a VPN solution.
I'm rating SonicWall SMA an eight out of ten. I would change my rating to a nine or a ten if they improved their company vision and their support.

We use SonicWall SMA for many purposes, such as remote desktops from different locations. It is a VPN solution.
The solution is reliable and has good overall performance.
SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network.
I have been using SonicWall SMA for approximately two years.
The stability of SonicWall SMA is good.
I rate the stability of SonicWall SMA a seven out of ten.
SonicWall SMA is scalable.
Our whole company of approximately 100 is using this solution. We do not plan to increase our usage.
I rate the scalability of SonicWall SMA an eight out of ten.
I previously used OpenVPN. OpenVPN Access Server is more user-friendly compared to SonicWall SMA. However, it could be more complex for a classical user but for technical users, it is better because they do more with it, such as build APIs.
The initial setup of SonicWall SMA is simple and can be done quickly.
My advice to others is to use another solution.
I rate SonicWall SMA a seven out of ten.

I primarily use the solution when I connect to LDP or MyLab. That's all.
The solution is very stable. The performance is good.
The program is easy to use.
The Bookmark functionality is good.
It is easy to set everything up.
The product is extremely flexible.
I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark.
I've been using the solution for four years at this point. It's been a while.
The stability is very good and it offers good performance. There are no bugs or glitches. t doesn't crash or freeze.
We have a small staff of about ten people, however, we have customers on this solution. Many use it.
Technical support is very good. We are quite satisfied with the solution's support overall.
The initial setup is very straightforward. It's not complicated.
The deployment is fast and only takes about one day.
I deployed the solution myself and I've also helped customers deploy it. We did not need to get a consultant's help.
I cannot speak to the exact pricing of the solution.
We are using either the latest version or the previous version of the solution.
I'm a reseller as well as a partner.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies as it is very flexible and it's dedicated to VPNs.
I'd rate the solution at ten out of ten.
Since the pandemic began, we have started using SonicWall to allow users to work from home.
We have found the most valuable features to be:
The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance.
I have to manage the SMA separately, there should be centralized management and reporting features.
I have been using this solution within the last 12 months.
The solution is stable and very reliable.
Since the solution is on the cloud the scalability should not be an issue.
We have approximately 200 people using this solution in my organization. We do not have more than 180 users connected at one time.
The technical support was responsive.
The initial setup was easy.
We had a team from SonicWall help us with the implementation of the solution.
This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed.
We did evaluate other solutions before we chose this one.
My advice to others is this solution is reliable, feature-rich, and reasonable-priced. If they want to have an SSL VPN solution, then SonicWall SMA is probably a good choice. It is has a two-factor authentication already in-built, and it will help you connect your mobile users without any issues. It has the capability of connecting all your devices, such as laptops, Linux systems, and MacBooks.
I rate SonicWall SMA an eight out of ten.
We are a system integrator and SonicWall SMA is one of the products that we implement for our clients. They use it to protect their data.
We need to keep applying updates that are supplied from the OEM.
On the customer's side, we have a centralized system. There is software to manage their security appliance, as well as their network appliance, and they have some kind of endpoint security. The problem is that when combined with what the client already has, there are two different logins and two different management systems, and these should be consolidated into a single interface.
We have been working with SonicWall SMA for 13 years.
This is a stable product.
I am very satisfied with the technical support.
We also work with Fortinet products.
The length of time for deployment depends on the customer and their environment.
I have a team of four people who handle the implementation for our clients.
This is definitely a product that I can recommend to others.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

I'm an information security engineer and we are integrators.
The user interface could be improved. I'd also like to see the solution move to the cloud.
I've been using this solution for one year.
The scalability and stability are good.
We are in Thailand and I'm very happy with the technical support.
I think they ask for a fair price.
I would rate this solution a nine out of 10.

We are service providers and we sell and integrate solutions for clients.
I am using this solution for VPN and mobile on the website.
I like the load balancing capability.
It's very fast and it has a simple interface.
The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement.
I have been using SonicWall SMA for one year.
It is a very scalable product, because this product may be used by a million people.
Our customers are small and large companies.
Technical support is good.
The initial setup was easy.
It takes 20 minutes to deploy.
Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users.
It's a good solution and I definitely recommend it.
I would rate SonicWall SMA a ten out of ten.