SonicWall Migration Tool to Sophos Firewall
The SonicWall Migration Tool, also known as the SonicWall Migration Assistant, helps migrate from SonicWall to Sophos Firewall.
Firewall: The Heart of the Network
Firewalls are the heart of every network, and many companies follow the motto “Never Touch a Running System.” Yet firewalls make a major contribution to security. Whether Fortinet, SonicWall, Palo Alto, or Sophos – around 80% of the features are the same across all vendors. Price, performance, ecosystem, usability, marketing, or simply the hope that things will work better with another vendor can motivate administrators to switch. The remaining 20% of features, however, can make the decisive difference if they are configured correctly.
Planning the Migration
Because the firewall is a central component of the network, many organizations shy away from switching to another vendor due to the effort, cost, and downtime involved. The easy path is often to buy new hardware, import the configuration, and voilà, everything runs again for another 4-6 years. But if the migration is well planned, network downtime is not much longer than when moving to a new model from the same vendor. Thanks to the new Sophos Firewall SonicWall Migration Assistant, migration cost and effort can be reduced.
SonicWall Migration Tool
The SonicWall Migration Tool takes a lot of work off your hands. You can import the backup of the SonicWall Firewall and receive a Sophos Firewall configuration. That configuration then only has to be imported and the hardware replaced. It’s that simple 😜. At least, that is how it would work in a perfect world. In reality, things look different. The SonicWall Firewall to Sophos Firewall Assistant only migrates parts of the configuration, and the post-migration work should not be underestimated.
First, you download the 2.5 GB OVA file and start the VM. You can then launch the wizard via a web interface, which guides you through the individual steps. Only Sophos partners can download the OVA file, so please contact us if you are interested.
The Sophos Firewall SonicWall Migration Assistant supports migration to the latest Sophos Firewall platforms, including all XGS Series models as well as virtual and software deployments. The import supports backups from SonicWall 6.5.X and 7.X. The assistant migrates:
- Interfaces
- Address objects (hosts)
- Service objects
- SD-WAN routes
- NAT Rules
- Threat Prevention Enablement
- Content/Web Filter lists
- Firewall rules
Among other things, users, groups, authentication, VPN, dynamic routes, administrative settings, Wi-Fi, application rules, Syslog, alerts, certificates, and passwords are not migrated.
Striving for Perfection
Most administrators do not have time to constantly maintain the firewall and review the rule base. It is therefore often easier to transfer existing settings to the new system. A migration, however, is also an opportunity to question everything, use new approaches, and rebuild the configuration. New technologies and advanced security features in Sophos Firewall offer significant potential for improving network security.
Step 1 is to make the migration as smooth as possible, but Step 2, fine-tuning, should always remain on the radar.
A well-thought-out migration plan that takes these aspects into account can not only improve security, but also increase network performance and administrative efficiency. A continuous improvement process should be established to ensure that the firewall stays technically up to date and meets the highest security standards.
Migration from any firewall to Sophos Firewall
The SonicWall to Sophos Firewall Migration Assistant has been available for some time, and it is also compatible with Fortinet.
Our technicians are happy to support any migration to Sophos Firewall. They provide training so that internal IT teams can operate the firewall themselves, or they can deliver the full service with Managed Firewall. Contact
If changing the firewall is not yet possible, you can also send SonicWall logs to Sophos Central so the data can be analyzed there by your own security team using XDR or by the Sophos MDR team.
