SonicWall Content Filtering Service (CFS) Premium Business Edition for the NSA 2650 delivers five years of enterprise-grade web filtering and policy enforcement to protect productivity, meet regulatory obligations, and reduce security risk. Built on a dynamic rating and caching architecture, CFS blocks inappropriate, illegal, or high-risk web content while giving administrators flexible, fine-grained control over Internet access—directly from the appliance, with no separate filtering server required.
Overview
CFS combines category-based filtering with local URL/IP controls and application-aware rules to provide a cost-effective, easy-to-manage solution for organizations of all sizes: enterprises, universities, libraries, government agencies, and public hotspots. The service improves performance by caching URL ratings locally and reduces exposure to malware, spyware, and bandwidth-heavy downloads.
Key features
- Granular policy control: Block or allow by category, URL, domain, IP, user, group, VLAN or time-of-day; apply policies at individual, group or organizational levels.
- Dynamic rating database: Real-time lookups against a continuously updated ratings repository (millions of URLs/IPs/domains) maintained by automated systems and human review to minimize false positives.
- Local caching & performance: URL ratings cached on the appliance for sub-second response times and reduced latency on frequently visited sites.
- Bandwidth & productivity controls: Block or throttle high-bandwidth categories (streaming, P2P, large downloads) to conserve resources and limit non-productive use.
- Integrated reporting: Forward data to SonicWall ViewPoint (and GMS) for rich graphical, real-time and historical reports, charts and searchable logs to support audits and visibility.
- Application-aware enforcement: Combine CFS with Application Intelligence to create unified URL + application policies.
- Compliance & risk reduction
- CFS helps satisfy regulatory requirements (e.g., CIPA) and internal compliance programs by enabling tailored policies, time-based rules, and targeted blocking—reducing legal exposure and workplace liability. Detailed reporting supports audit and regulatory needs.
How it works
When a web request occurs the appliance queries the dynamic rating service, compares the returned rating against local policy, and instantly allows or denies the request. The system’s caching and rating architecture ensure accuracy, speed, and up-to-date coverage.
Benefits
- Faster, more accurate filtering with minimal false positives
- Flexible, centralized policy management from the firewall appliance
- Improved network performance and lower TCO (no separate filter server)
- Scalable for small sites to large, distributed deployments
