sonicwall utm and ssl vpn combine on distributed academic network sunnyvale, calif., june 30 /prnewswire-firstcall/ -- sonicwall, inc. (nasdaq: snwl), a leading secure network infrastructure company, today announced pulaski county special school district (pcssd) has deployed a sonicwall(r) e-class network security appliance (nsa) e6500 and sonicwall(r) aventail(r) e-class secure remote access (sra) ex-1600 appliance to create a sonicwall clean vpn(tm) environment. "with our clean vpn configuration, once remote users are securely connected over ssl vpn, we can apply the same inbound and outbound firewall features as if they were on the local network," said jimmy hogg, pcssd's assistant director of network and computer operations. the sonicwall clean vpn combines ssl vpn with high-performance unified threat management (utm) to secure the integrity of both vpn access and vpn traffic. previously, pcssd used terminal services to provide staff and vendors with remote access to the network, but the school district was not satisfied with its security. now, the nsa e6500 applies gateway anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, and application firewall, and the ex-1600 verifies that any remote device has the latest updated protection before authorizing the user onto the ssl vpn. "our users needed easy and secure remote access, but we didn't want to have to load software on their remote computers," said hogg. "now we just point them to a web portal and they can safely link to all the resources they need." pcssd has deployed sonicwall application firewall to deter use of proxy downloads of music and video, along with access to gaming and social networking sites by limiting bandwidth available for these file types. hogg uses the sonicwall global management system (gms) to manage over 40 sonicwall appliances distributed at over 40 locations across 730 square miles. "we are able to push firmware updates, back up configuration files, and manage each appliance and all their feature sets from one console. the gms also provides us a centralized reporting database that documents all firewall activity for regulatory compliance," said hogg. "the capability of managing all our firewalls from one console is priceless and saves us countless staff hours." based on his positive experience, hogg is looking into future sonicwall deployments at pcssd. "we will be evaluating sonicwall sonicpoint wireless access points for a clean wireless deployment. we are also considering using cdp over ssl vpn to back up mobile laptops used by our senior staff members," said hogg. about sonicwall, inc. sonicwall is committed to improving the performance and productivity of businesses of all sizes by engineering the cost and complexity out of running a secure network. over one million sonicwall appliances have been shipped through its global network of ten thousand channel partners to keep tens of millions of worldwide business computer users safe and in control of their data. sonicwall's award-winning solutions include network security, secure remote access, content security, backup and recovery, and policy and management technology. for more information, visit the company web site at safe harbor regarding forward-looking statements certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the benefits of the sonicwall clean vpn solution, the benefits of the sonicwall global management system and future business opportunities at pcssd. these forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. in addition, please see the "risk factors" described in our securities and exchange commission filings, including our annual report on form 10-k for the year ended december 31, 2008, for a more detailed description of the risks facing our business. all forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to sonicwall as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. note: sonicwall is a registered trademark of sonicwall, inc. other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. source sonicwall, inc. colleen nichols, +1-408-962-6131, cnichols@sonicwall.com, or sarah london, +1-408-962-6163, slondon@sonicwall.com, both of sonicwall, inc.