Firms needing to set up secure internet connectivity quickly at sites with minimal or no onsite network connectivity may be tempted by security vendor SonicWall’s TZ-190 appliance, which was launched today.

UK technical manager Andrew Brown describes the TZ-190 as a standard SonicWall box with an eight-port LAN switch, a demilitarised zone (DMZ), a WAN connection at the rear and a DMZ link. At the side is a PC-Card slot that takes 3G cards from Vodafone or T-Mobile.

“The TZ-190 is pretty unique in the market. There are 3G systems around, but there’s no appliance like this designed as a complete security system for 3G data with all the services you’re used to seeing from SonicWall,” he said.

Depending on how the TZ-190 is configured, the appliance can use the 3G connection as a backup connection or as the primary internet interface. “It’s a full-blown stateful packet inspection firewall with gateway antivirus, gateway anti-spyware, content filtering and intrusion prevention,” Brown added.

He explained that the TZ-190 will suit sites that need temporary internet access but do not want to be locked into a 12-month contract for broadband connectivity. The device can also be attached to a wireless access point to give users more freedom to move.

The device operates off a mains cable but Brown said it plans to offer an adapter that can take power from a standard 12V car battery. The TZ-190 is available now priced around £530 and can handle 15 IPSec VPNs and also supports GPRS, Edge, UMTS and HSDPA wireless connectivity.

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