Setting Up SonicWALL’s SonicPoints
February 23rd, 2010 by Charles Edge

Source : http://techjournal.318.com/network-architecture/setting-up-sonicwalls-sonicpoints/

99% of this is from Page 23 of the SonicWALL Network Security Appliances – SonicPoint-N Dual-Band Getting Started Guide, the other 1% makes it worth reprinting.

Configuring Wireless Access

This section describes how to configure SonicPoints with a
SonicWALL UTM appliance.

SonicWALL SonicPoints are wireless access points specially engineered to work with SonicWALL UTM appliances. Before you can manage SonicPoints in the management interface, perform the following steps:
-Configuring Provision Profiles
-Configuring a Wireless Zone
-Configuring the Network Interface

Configuring Provision Profiles
SonicPOint Profile defines settings that can be configured on a SonicPoint, such as radio SSIDs, and channels of operation.

These profiles make it easy to apply basic settings to a wireless zone, especially when that zone contains multiple SonicPoints When a SonicPoint is connected to a zone, it is automatically provisioned with the profile assigned to that zone. If a SonicPoint is connected to a zone that does not have a custom profile assigned to it, the default profile “SonicPoint-N” is used.

To add a new profile:
1. Navigate to the SonicPoint > SonicPoints page in the SonicOS interface.
2. Click Add SonicPointN below the list of SonicPoint provisioning profiles.
3. The Add/Edit SonicPoint Profile window displays settings you can enable and/or modify.

Settings Tab:
1. Select Enable SonicPoint
2. Enter a Name Prefix to be used internally as the first part of the name for each SonicPoint provisioned
3. Select the Country Code for the area of operation

802.11n Radio Tab
1. Select Enable Radio
2. Optionally, select a schedule for he radio to be enabled from the drop-down list. The most common work and weekend hour schedules are pre-populated for selection.
3. Select a Radio Mode to dictate the radio frequency band(s). The default settings is 2.4GHz 802.11n/g/b Mixed.
4. Enter an SSID. This is the access point name that will appear in clients’ lists of available wireless connections.
5. Select a Primary Channel and Secondary Channel. You may choose AutcChannel and Secondary Channel. You may choose AutoChannel unless you have a reason to use or avoid specific channels.
6. Under WEP/WPA Encryption, select the Authentication Type of your wireless network. SonicWALL recommends using WPA2 as the authentication type.
7. Fill in the fields specific to the authentication type that you selected. The remaining files change depending on the selected authentication type.
8. Optionally, under ACL Enforcement, select Enable MAC Filter List to enforce Access Control by allowing or denying traffic from specific devices. Select a MAC address object group from the Allow List or Deny List to automatically allow or deny traffic to and from all devices with MAC addresses in the group. The Deny List is enforced before the Allow List.

Advanced Tab:
Configure the advanced radio settings for the 802.11n radio. For most 802.11n advanced options, the default settings give optimum performance. For a full description of the fields on this tab, see the SonicOS Enhanced Administrator’s Guide.

Configuring a Wireless Zone

You can configure a wireless zone on eh Network > Zones page. Typically, you will configure the WLAN zone for use with SonicPoints.

To configure a standard WLAN zone:
1. On the Network > Zones page in the WLAN row, click the icon in the Configure column.
2. Click on General tab.
3. Select the Allow Interface Trust setting to automate the creation of Access Rules to allow traffic to flow between the interfaces within the zone, regardless of which interfaces to which the zone is applied. For example, if the WLAN Zone has both the X2 and X3 interfaces assigned to it, selecting the Allow Interface Trust checkbox on the WLAN Zone creates the necessary Access Rules to allow hosts on these interfaces to communicate with each other.
4. Select the check boxes for the security services to enable on this zone. Typically, you would enable Gateway Anti-Virus, IPS, and Anti-Spyware (IF YOU HAVE THE LICENSES). If your wireless clients are all running SonicWALL Client Anti-Virus, select Enable Client AV Enforcement Service.
5. Click on the Wireless Tab.
6. Select Only allow traffic generated by a SonicPoint to allow only traffic from SonicWALL SonicPoints to enter the WLAN Zone interface. This provides the maximum security on your WLAN.
7. Optionally, click the Guest Services tab to configure guest Internet access solely, or in tandem with secured access. For information about configuring Guest Services, see the SonicOS Enhanced Administrator’s Guide.
8. When finished, click OK.

Configuring the Network Interface

Each SonicPoint or group of SonicPoints must be connected to a physical network interface that is configured for Wireless. SonicOS by default provides a standard wireless zone (WLAN), which can be applied to any available interface.

To configure a network interface using the standard wireless (WLAN) zone:
1. Navigate to the Network > Interfaces page and click the Configure button for the interface to which your SonicPoints will be connected.
2. Select WLAN for the Zone type.
3. Select Static for the IP Assignment.
4. Enter a static IP Address in the field. Any private IP is appropriate for this field, as long as it does not interfere with the IP address range of any of your other interfaces.
5. Enter a Subnet Mask.
6. Optionally, choose a SonicPoint Limit for this interface. This option helps limit resources on port by port basis when using SonicPoints across multiple ports.
7. Optionally, choose to allow Management and User Login mechanisms if they make sense in your deployment. Remember that allowing login from a wireless zone can pose a security threat, especially if you or your users have not set strong passwords.

Verifying Operation

To verify that the SonicPoint is provisioned and operational, navigate to the SonicPoint > SonicPoints page in the SonicOS management interface. The SonicPoint displays an “operational” status in the SonicPointNs table.

Connect to WIFI and ensure that you can browse the Internet.