• SonicOS 7
• Zones
  • How Zones Work
  • Predefined Zones
  • Security Types
  • Allow Interface Trust
  • Enabling SonicWall Security Services on Zones
  • Effect of Wireless and Non-Wireless Controller Modes
    • Effects of Enabling Non-Wireless Controller Mode
    • Effects of Enabling Wireless Controller Mode
  • Match Objects > Zones
    • The Zone Settings Table
    • Adding a New Zone
    • Configuring a Zone for Guest Access
    • Configuring a Zone for Open Authentication and Social Login
    • Configuring a Zone for Captive Portal Authentication with RADIUS
    • Configuring a Zone for Customized Policy Message
    • Configuring a Zone for Customized Login Page
    • Configuring the WLAN Zone
    • Configuring the RADIUS Server
    • Configuring DPI-SSL Granular Control per Zone
    • Enabling Automatic Redirection to the User-Policy Page
    • Deleting a Zone
• Addresses
  • Types of Address Objects
  • About Address Groups
  • About UUIDs for Address Objects and Groups
  • Addresses Page
    • Common Features
      • Common Functions
      • Common Column Headings
    • Sorting the Entries
  • Default Address Objects and Groups
  • Default Pref64 Address Object
  • Default Rogue Address Groups
  • Adding an Address Object
  • Editing Address Objects
  • Deleting Custom Address Objects
  • Purging MAC or FQDN Address Objects
  • Creating Address Groups
  • Editing Address Groups
  • Deleting Address Groups
  • Working with Dynamic Address Objects
    • Key Features of Dynamic Address Objects
    • Enforcing the Use of Sanctioned Servers on the Network
    • Using MAC and FQDN Dynamic Address Objects
      • Blocking All Protocol Access to a Domain using FQDN DAOs
      • Using an Internal DNS Server for FQDN-based Access Rules
      • Controlling a Dynamic Host’s Network Access by MAC Address
      • Bandwidth Managing Access to an Entire Domain
• Services
  • About Default Service Objects and Groups
  • Predefined IP Protocols for Custom Service Objects
  • Adding Service Objects using Predefined Protocols
  • Adding Custom IP Type Services
    • Configuration Example
  • Editing Custom Service Objects
  • Deleting Custom Service Objects
  • Adding Custom Service Groups
  • Editing Custom Service Groups
  • Deleting Custom Service Groups
• URI Lists
  • About URIs and the URI List
  • About URI List Groups
  • About Keywords and the Keyword List
  • Matching URI List Objects
  • Using URI List Objects
  • Managing URI List Objects
    • About the URI List Objects Table
    • Configuring URI List Objects
    • Exporting a URI List Object
    • Editing a URI List Object
    • Deleting URI List Objects
  • Managing URI List Groups
    • About the URI List Groups Table
    • Adding URI List Groups
    • Editing a URI List Group
    • Deleting URI List Groups
• Match Objects
  • About Match Objects
    • About Regular Expressions
      • Regular Expression Syntax
    • About Negative Matching
  • About Application List Objects
    • About Application Filters
    • About Category Filters
  • Configuring a Match Object
  • Configuring Application List Objects
• Schedules
  • Adding a Custom Schedule
  • Modifying Schedules
  • Deleting Custom Schedules
• Dynamic Group
  • About the Dynamic External Address Group File
  • DEAG and DEAO Maximums
  • High Availability Requirements
  • Adding a Dynamic External Object
  • Editing Dynamic External Objects
  • Deleting Dynamic External Objects
• Email Addresses
  • Configuring Email Address Objects
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

How Zones Work

An easy way to visualize how security zones work is to imagine a large new building, with several rooms inside the building, and a group of new employees that do not know their way around the building. This building has one or more exits, which can be thought of as the WAN interfaces. The rooms within the building have one or more doors, which can be thought of as interfaces. These rooms can be thought of as zones inside each room are a number of people. The people are categorized and assigned to separate rooms within the building. People in each room going to another room or leaving the building, must talk to a door person on the way out of each room. This door person is the inter-zone/intra-zone security policy, and the door person’s job to consult a list and make sure that the person is allowed to go to the other room, or to leave the building. If the person is allowed (for example, the security policy allows them in), they can leave the room through the door (the interface).

Upon entering the hallway, the person needs to consult with the hallway monitor to find out where the room is, or where the door out of the building is located. This hallway monitor provides the routing process because the monitor knows where all the rooms are located, and how to get in and out of the building. The monitor also knows the addresses of any of the remote offices, which can be considered the VPNs. If the building has more than one entrance/exit (WAN interfaces), the hallway monitor can direct people to use the secondary entrance/exit, depending upon how they have been told to do so (for example, only in an emergency, or to distribute the traffic in and out of the entrance/exits). This function can be thought of as WAN Load Balancing.

There are times that the rooms inside the building have more than one door, and times when there are groups of people in the room who are not familiar with one another. In this example, one group of people uses only one door, and another group uses the other door, even though groups are all in the same room. Because they also do not recognize each other, in order to speak with someone in another group, the users must ask the door person (the security policy) to point out which person in the other group is the one with whom they wish to speak. The door person has the option to not let one group of people talk to the other groups in the room. This is an example of when zones have more than one interface bound to them, and when intra-zone traffic is not allowed.

Sometimes, people want to visit remote offices, and people might arrive from remote offices to visit people in specific rooms in the building. These are the VPN tunnels. The hallway and doorway monitors check to see if this is allowed or not, and allow traffic through. The door person can also elect to force people to put on a costume before traveling to another room, or to exit, or to another remote office. This hides the true identity of the person, masquerading the person as someone else. This process can be thought of as the NAT policy.