SonicWall Switch Getting Started Guide
Configuring Basic Topologies
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Configuring a Common Uplink
SonicWall Switches can be managed by the firewall, thereby providing a unified management option. The
common uplink configuration allows a single link between the firewall and the Switch to be designated as the
uplink that carries all PortShield traffic, both management and data. Both the firewall and Switch ports are
configured as trunk ports for carrying tagged traffic for VLANs corresponding to all the firewall interfaces. The
VLAN tag of the traffic is used to associate the traffic to the PortShield group to which it belongs through the
application of IDV (Interface Disambiguation via VLAN).
The advantage of such a deployment option is to separate a set of firewall/Switch ports that are not being used
for management traffic. The disadvantage is that a high amount of data traffic can penalize forwarding of
management traffic as the same link is shared for both types of traffic.
The diagram,
, shows a typical integration topology of a firewall with a SonicWall
Switch:
•
The firewall uplink interface is X3.
•
The Switch uplink interface is 2.
This uplink between X3 on the firewall and port 2 on the Switch is a common link set up to carry PortShield
traffic between H1 / H2 and H3 / H4. The uplink is also the one on which the Switch is managed by the firewall.
In such a configuration, X3 is configured in the same subnet as the IP of the Switch (see
). Also, X3 is configured as the firewall uplink.
Common Uplink Topology
To configure a common link:
A firewall-to-Switch common link can be made by adding the Switch through Zero-Touch or configuring it
manually.
•
•
Adding a Switch to a Firewall Manually
Both of these options help configure a common link by selecting the proper interface.
