SSL VPN

The battle for secure remote access to the corporate network is dominated by two contenders – in one corner are IPsec VPNs and in the other SSL VPNs. IPsec VPNs are frequently included with general-purpose security appliances and so are relatively cheap to implement. But they can be complex to ...

This appliance hails from a Swedish company that has been going since 1997. The software runs on a Sun Netra X1 box (1U in size). It also has the widest range of client types we saw in this test.

The AppGate A1 system runs on a Sun Microsystems SunFire v100 under SunOS 5.9. Although configuring the device is simple, AppGate will set it up with the relevant network addresses for you if you provide the data beforehand. All you need to do is to install it in the rack, ...

The Symantec 4460 device provides two 10/100/1000 copper network interfaces in a 2U height rack mountable chassis. The front panel contains an LCD screen and a four-button control group is used for the initial IP set-up, so there is no fiddling about with serial cables.

Now in version 3.6, the Tsunami VPN appliance sports a simpler management interface and new tools for managing access rules, as well as the ability to send password expiration warnings to remote users who authenticate against NT domains.

This device is unusual in that it offers not only SSL VPN facilities, but can support remote keyboard/video/ mouse (KVM) access to servers, combining two major sets of remote functions in one connection. This has several advantages, since it reduces the number of possible entry points to a secure system. ...

This product is built upon Sun's very secure Trusted Solaris 8 operating system, which has been used by the U.S. Department of Defense for over 25 years. It is a hardened version of the Solaris operating system platform for deployment of high-security desktops, database servers, firewalls, and communication gateways.

Nokia's IP380 offers SSL VPN support through its NSAS (Nokia Secure Access System) facility. NSAS administration is browser based, but has a different layout to the "Voyager" system management interface. This is just as easy to use and presents no problems in practice. NSAS can also use the serial interface ...

Aventail recently updated its ASAP (Anywhere Secure Access Policy) software, and it provides a number of improvements. The most noticeable changes are improved certificate management and static route configuration.

This device is built into a rugged 3U height chassis and provides two copper Gigabit Ethernet ports for network connections (the vendor claims up to four Gigabit ports are available, but we only found two). The initial set up needs a serial connection, but subsequent configuration changes are made through ...