Greetings!
I'd like to invite you to test out the next version of Sophos UTM Manager. SUM is our multi-platform management product. It remains a free offering, although you can buy a UTM appliance and dedicate it to running SUM (supported since SUM 4.1), or even re-purpose an older appliance you have replaced to this role if the hardware is sufficiently powerful. SUM is widely used in virtual environments such as VMware and Xen while also run in the Amazon cloud (for which we publish Amazon Machine Images). We don't specifically restrict SUM from any platform; if you can get it to run, it will likely work. Tinker away!
SUM is a great tool even if you just have a couple of UTM installations, it lets you schedule Up2Date installations, acts as a backup-file repository, and you can dive into the WebAdmin of your connected UTM installations via single-sign on. There is also a fancy map showing you your sites that looks great on a monitor in your admin office. [:)] If you haven't given it a shot, we invite you to take it for a spin! Keep in mind that SUM has TWO login portals. The settings and mechanics for SUM itself is located using HTTPS on port 4444, while the real magic happens on port 4422, which is where you work with your installations. Remember that UTM must be joined to SUM via the Central Management section in the WebAdmin UTM before you can work them (and indeed supports connecting to TWO installations of SUM allowing for some great partner/customer use-cases).
This version sees us looking to add more features and functionality into the SUM platform, and make it more capable of keeping up with the pace of our venerable UTM by updating its existing abilities to bring them in line with the updates the UTM has received. For example, the Firewall rules system now supports multiple-objects-per-rule just like UTM.
Before you get started, there is of course the terribly-official and legalese dialogue that we must post to appease the dark apostles that dwell deep within our catacombs. Being a BETA release, this product is not a full representation of the final product in performance, features, or stability. There are chances, (however small) that things will spontaneously crash, explode, detonate, melt down, or evolve and gain awareness before pre-emptively striking. You should take care when using this public beta in production environments where you cannot afford downtime, erratic behaviour, frustration in the middle of the nights, or just plain odd happenings. Architect for failure, and stay ever vigilant heroes.
I'll start by rounding up the usual suspects to save answering their questions later.
-While SUM is free, we've attached a license here to make things easy. You can use your own license as well, or request one via the landing page (which populates the key into your MyUTM Portal as well).
-You can install the SUM 4.2 ISO and restore your backup from a previous SUM. (YMMV if you use pre-4.0 backup files)
-You can Up2Date from SUM 4.1 to SUM 4.2 Beta
-You will be able to Up2Date from the final Beta to the GA release
-Documentation (aside from tips and discussion here) will not be available until the GA release
-The SUM 4.2 Beta is limited to support via this forum, official support of SUM 4.2 is not available until the GA release
-The GA release is scheduled for May
-If you don't see feature X, never fear, we have some things to add still, and much more to come in future releases as we accelerate things.
Enough with the banter I say, let's make with some features and downloads!
[SIZE="3"]Sophos UTM Manager 4.2[/SIZE]
Major New Things
*NOTE* Management and Configuration for past UTM Versions:
Beginning with SUM 4.2, configuration operations to past UTM versions will be limited. As SUM receives new abilities based on features that have been added (and will be added in the future) to the UTM, the rate at which older versions fall behind capabilities-wise increases. To allow SUM to move forward with the UTM, older UTM versions will not be able to be configured via a SUM that is "ahead" of them version-wise. Older versions of UTM can still connect to SUM, and you will be able to manage, monitor, enter WebAdmin, and perform most other tasks. Pushing of security configuration is all that will be limited due to the technical mechanics; UTM's that are not of sufficient version to be managed by the version of SUM you are using will have some options greyed-out and have a different visual look to indicate they should be updated (which you can use SUM to do as well).
As an example, when SUM 4.2 is released, it will connect with UTM 9, 9.1, and even old ASG V8 devices for monitoring, management, and maintenance, yet only UTMs running 9.200+ will support configuration operations such as deploying a firewall rule.
Notifcations management
From within your SUM installation you can now globally work with UTM notifications, allowing you to enable or disable notifiers on selected UTM devices from a new section in the Gateway Manager.
MAC address support for global objects
SUM can now manage objects that are MAC Address based, allowing more parity with the UTM abilities. MAC address object lists can be created, changed, and deployed from a new section in the Global Objects area.
Firewall rule management enhancements
The management of packet filter rules has been overhauled and extended to match the capabilities of UTM, and now supports the creation, import, and export of rules that have multiple sources, services, destinations, and MAC addresses.
Web protection management enhancements
UTM 9.2 has received many new features for Web protection, and in this version of SUM you can now work with attributes such as Safesearch enforcement, Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA), Google Apps domain limiting, the new "Warn" feature for blocking, max download sizes, and much more.
Support for Network Range objects
When creating objects in SUM, you can now create an object that has a specified range of network IP addresses, allowing you to more easily cover sections of a network landscape in a definition without creating address objects individually and grouping them together.
Other New Things
- When using a filter on a page to limit the returned results, your filter settings will now be preserved when selecting a filtered result, and then returning back.
- Time events can now be created which span across midnight.
- The global objects availability group has been enhanced to allow for more monitoring types (Ping, UDP, TCP, HTTP(S) hosts) and also has now support for the "Timeout" and "Always Resolved" options from UTM.
- Network host global objects now supports the IPv6 and DNS parameters that were introduced in UTM 9.1
- Global network, web, and firewall rule objects have received feature parity with the UTM
- Site to Site IPSec tunnels configured from SUM via the VPN wizard can now configure options for "Bind Tunnel to Local Interface", "Support Path MTU discovery", "Support congestion signalling (ECN)", and" Enable XAUTH client mode".
Download Links
Coming shortly, will be posted in another, dedicated thread and updated with new releases.
Don't forget to post your feedback, report bugs, and keep our developers busy!
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