SonicWall troubleshooting: Packet Monitor, connections, diagnostics, logs and IPsec VPN
The tools SonicOS gives you when something doesn't work: Packet Monitor and its packet status (forwarded, generated, consumed, dropped), the Connections table, the Diagnostics tools (Check Network Settings, DNS lookup, ping, network path, PMTU discovery, Connection TopX) and the Tech Support Report, how logging and alert levels decide what you see, and how SonicOS site-to-site IPsec VPNs are put together so you can find why a tunnel won't come up.
- Level
- Advanced
- Length
- About 50 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 2 Oct 2026
- SonicWall
Skills you'll practise
- Configure Packet Monitor monitor and display filters and read packet status, ingress and egress to tell whether the firewall forwarded or dropped traffic
- Filter the Connections table with AND/OR logic to find a specific connection
- Choose the right Diagnostics tool for a symptom, including Check Network Settings and PMTU Discovery
- Generate a Tech Support Report safely, knowing which options include sensitive data
- Explain how the logging level filters events by priority
- Find mismatches between two SonicWall site-to-site VPN policies (IKE version, secret, IDs, initiator)
Course outline
- 1.SonicWall troubleshooting toolsVideo · 2 min
- 2.Packet Monitor: what the firewall did with each packetLesson · 17 min
- 3.Connections, Diagnostics tools and the Tech Support ReportLesson · 16 min
- 4.Logs and site-to-site IPsec VPNLesson · 17 min
- 5.SonicWall troubleshooting: Packet Monitor, connections, diagnostics, logs and IPsec VPN: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 16 questions
- 6.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- SonicOS 7.0 Tools & Monitors Administration Guide (Packet Monitor, Connections)
- SonicOS 7 Diagnostics Administration Guide (Tech Support Report, Check Network Settings, Ping, PMTU Discovery and other tools)
- SonicOS 7.1 Device Log Administration Guide (logging and alert levels, syslog)
- SonicOS 7.1 IPSec VPN Administration Guide
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.