Better Network Management: Latest Features in Network Security Manager 2.5

We are thrilled to announce new Network Security Manager (NSM) 2.5 features, designed to make our platform more user-friendly while providing additional value to our users. These enhancements are based on customer feedback and our commitment to providing the best network management services. Here's a summary of what's new.

Enhancing NSM Alerts

One of the key improvements in NSM 2.5 is the alert enhancements. Accurate and specialized alerts are critical to users maintaining network security. We want to make sure that NSM provides this value for users in a simple way. The improvements to alerts include:

VPN Up/Down Alerts Enhancements: This alerts admins when a VPN link goes up or down. NSM 2.5 allows admins to select the VPN tunnels they want to monitor. The alert will also provide details on which VPN link went down and the reason behind it. This ensures their network's smooth operation and security, enabling prompt responses to connectivity issues and minimizing user downtime.

WAN Failover Email Detail Enhancements: These alerts ensure that admins are immediately informed of a WAN failover event, allowing for rapid response and mitigation of failed interfaces. NSM 2.5 provides more data about WAN failovers in the email alert. This includes more details on why there was a failover, whether due to a physical interface down or the probe.

Firewall Reboot Alerts: This new alert informs admins when a firewall is rebooted. Firewall reboot alerts are crucial for network admins to ensure the network's security, stability, and performance. They help admins investigate and mitigate potential security breaches immediately and verify that security policies are re-applied correctly to maintain network security.

WAN Probe Failure Alerts: This new alert informs admins when probes fail due to WAN load balancing or HA firewall failovers. WAN probe failure alerts help identify connectivity problems between different sites or with internet connectivity, allowing admins to address these issues immediately. HA firewall failover alerts are crucial for network admins to ensure critical systems and applications' resilience, reliability, and performance.

Improved Management and Reporting

Adding user value is one of the themes of NSM 2.5. We've made enhancements to reports and templates, assisting users in managing their network security to their preference:

Enhanced Firewall Reporting: Generate Firewall Up-Time Summary Reports to get an on-demand view of your firewall health periodically and when the devices last went offline or online.

Storage Settings in Templates: NSM now supports storage settings in templates, so admins can quickly configure storage settings in templates. This allows them to store system logs, threat logs, packet capture logs, and AppFlow report data in external storage.

Integration with Cloud Secure Edge (Formerly Banyan Security) Connector

One of the most significant features of NSM 2.5 is that it will support Cloud Secure Edge Connector integration, starting with SonicOS 7.1.2, to enable zero-trust network access to private apps hosted behind the firewall. NSM enables this integration on Gen7 firewalls.

To learn more about our new integration with the Cloud Secure Edge Connector, visit this blog.

Network Security Manager 2.5 represents a significant step forward in network security management by offering enhanced alerting, improved usability, and advanced features to help you protect your network more effectively.

NSM 2.5 is now available for upgrade. Learn more about NSM here or book a live demo today!