Sophos XG Firewall v18 EAP 1 Refresh 1 Firmware Has Been Released!

Following on the footsteps of the XG Firewall v18 Early Access Program (EAP) 1 firmware release, the first Refresh version is now available for download. To get the latest release, go to the XG Firewall v18 EAP page.

Note: if you've already registered for the v18 EAP and upgraded your XG Firewall firmware, there's no need to re-register to gain access to the v18 Refresh 1 release. You will see a notice in the firewall UI to upgrade through the Up2Date service.

In addition to the Refresh firmware, we've updated the "Known Issues, Advice for Users, and Incomplete Features" document with new information.

Please remember, this is still an early build of the v18 release so there are some things we’d like to bring to your attention before you download the firmware and begin testing it.

• We’ve attempted to make the build as bug-free as possible, however as is the nature of early access firmware we cannot guarantee it will be. Therefore, use the firmware in production at your own discretion.
• The firmware is continually being tuned for performance. Expect to see faster speeds in future builds.
• As part of the EAP we’ll continue to add additional features into future builds. You can find the features in those later builds in the "What’s New in v18” document.

Issues Resolved in SF v18 EAP 1 Refresh 1

• NC-51717 [DDNS, Email] DDNS uses wrong IP when interface is configured with PPPoE + Alias
• Additional stability fixes

Getting Started

Once you’re ready to go, we’ve got some great resources to help you get started:

• Recommended Reads - Check out these important forum posts
• “What’s New in v18” – See the complete feature list with descriptions
• v18 Interactive training course - Enroll in this interactive training course to learn more about v18
  • Home page for Sophos Customer Training
• v18 Admin Guide - Read the latest admin guide for v18
• v18 Evaluation Guide Slides – Learn about the features we’d like you to test
• v18 Public Release Notes – Read the latest notes about the v18 build
• v18 Known Issues and Limitations – Get updated information on any known issues, advice for users and incomplete features in v18

Things to Know Before Upgrading

Before upgrading to v18 EAP 1 from an earlier version, there are a few things to note:

• You can upgrade to v18 from v17.5 MR6 or later MR versions of v17.5.
• Rollback (firmware switch) is supported as usual. You can roll back to v17.5 MRx if you experience any issues during the v18 EAP. As an example, the active firmware on the firewall is v18, and the second firmware version is v17.5. Administrators can switch between these two and the configuration on each will stay as it is.
• Backup and restore are supported as usual. SG Firewalls running SFOS, Cyberoam firewalls and XG Firewall backups can be restored on v18.
• Due to a minimum memory requirement of 4GB of RAM, XG 85 and XG 105 models cannot upgrade to v18 and must remain on a 17.x version.
• v18 firmware is not supported on Cyberoam models. However, Cyberoam firewall backups can be restored on an XG Firewall running v18.
• Downgrading from v18 to older firmware - using v17.5 or earlier firmware file - is NOT supported. The Web console will the give appropriate message. v18 uses Grub boot loader. The changed bootloader cannot recognize v17 firmware. Administrators can still use the hardware ISO of v17.5 or an earlier version to get the firewall on an older firmware version and restore the downgraded firmware's backup.

Recommended upgrade process when you test multiple v18 early access releases:

• This is applicable if you have upgraded to v18 from v17.5. When you further upgrade from v18-EAP(x) to v18-EAP(x+1), you can first switch to v17.5 and upgrade from v17.5 directly to v18-EAP(x+1). From there, you can then restore the backup of v18-EAP(x). This way you will always have v17.5 firmware in your second firmware slot, and leave an option open to roll back to v17.5 if needed.

Share Your Feedback

Communicating your experiences with the v18 EAP 1 firmware is crucial to its success, so we want to hear from you! Please share your feedback via the Sophos Community or through your XG Firewall’s feedback mechanism in the user interface.

• How to report a bug? Check out this post that outlines the info needed.

Thank you for taking the time to test the v18 EAP 1 release. We’re excited about all the new features this release will bring to Sophos XG users and we appreciate your help making it happen!

Sincerely,

Your Sophos XG Firewall Product Team