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SonicWall Netextender pros and cons

Vendor: SonicWall
3.3 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

NetExtender allows remote work with ease and reliability.
The software provides good control over destination management and routing.
SonicWall NetExtender integrates seamlessly with SAML.
VPN accounts can be integrated with Microsoft Identity Management for secure access.
It supports high availability and multifactor authentication.

CONS

Some VPN clients are free, but NetExtender requires purchase.
Multi-factor authentication must be enabled or integrated by default to be compatible with NetExtender.
Licenses cannot be pooled across multiple appliances, making disaster recovery challenging and requiring extensive administrative work.
NetExtender consumes significant bandwidth.
Relocating the VPN appliance necessitates starting over and redeploying from scratch due to lack of portability.
 

SonicWall Netextender Pros review quotes

GD
Jun 12, 2025
The best features of the SonicWall Netextender were its ease of use.
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 18, 2024
It can support multifactor authentication. Also, it is a very basic application.
reviewer1545279 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 7, 2022
I found nothing of value in this solution.
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall Netextender. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DE
Nov 8, 2021
The initial setup is pretty straightforward.
KE
Jun 29, 2021
The most valuable feature for the Netextender is the ease with which we can integrate it with SAML.
FS
May 17, 2021
It allows us to work remotely.
DS
Jun 9, 2021
The initial setup is pretty easy.
Bharath Kumar Gajula - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 6, 2023
My company opted for this solution because it can individually perform. Basically, we don't require load balancers and all those additional feature sets or additional devices that might be required. The solution can handle the certificate, DNS queries, and all that stuff individually.
KE
Feb 1, 2023
One of the most valuable features of SonicWall Netextender is the integration of VPN accounts with Microsoft Identity Management, which enables us to enforce secure access through Microsoft Intune and conditional access policies. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are able to access the VPN, rather than anyone with knowledge of a password.
PR
May 27, 2021
NetExtender works very well. I never had an issue with it, and it has been working well for me. In terms of management, you have good control over the destination. You can use NetExtender to set the policy and the static route for a client. You can modify it based on what your client needs or can access. You have good control over routing.
 

SonicWall Netextender Cons review quotes

GD
Jun 12, 2025
Sometimes you can get bounced around through the departments until you find the right one. Sometimes if you don't have the most current support contract or your license is out of date, they won't even talk to you.
JayPrajapati - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 18, 2024
In future releases, introductions of AI features would be really helpful.
reviewer1545279 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 7, 2022
They need to rewrite the software to make it a usable product.
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall Netextender. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DE
Nov 8, 2021
The Netextender application itself doesn't really look pretty, however, we can still use it. We don't care what it looks like. That said, if they did a cosmetic update, that would be fine.
KE
Jun 29, 2021
Right now, you have to load each license on to an appliance. You can't pool across multiple appliances. So, you end up having to do a lot of administrative work to recover if an internet provider goes down, and you cannot leverage it as easily into a DR solution.
DS
Jun 9, 2021
There must be a multi-factor authentication enabled or integrated by default with it in order to be integrated with NetExtender.
Bharath Kumar Gajula - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 6, 2023
The only concern I do have is with the zero trust, and the solution is not coping with the newer technologies as much as it needs to do on that particular factor.
KE
Feb 1, 2023
The initial setup of SonicWall Netextender is straightforward. The only issue we encountered was with relocating the VPN appliance. If we needed to move it from an on-premise to an on-cloud architecture, we had to start over and redeploy it from scratch. Unfortunately, it is not portable and any changes to its physical location often result in the need for a fresh deployment to ensure everything functions properly.
PR
May 27, 2021
SonicWall can be difficult for some people, but I don't find it difficult. Some companies provide a VPN client for free, but you have to pay for NetExtender.
Gary Downey - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 2, 2023
The UI could be a little better.