Ravlin Client

 RavlinSoft VPN Client Provides Secure Access

SonicWALL’s RavlinSoft™ IPSec VPN client is a Windows® based software equivalent of a Ravlin hardware unit that provides data privacy between remote users and the corporate network. Using the Ravlin Soft client, a mobile employee or telecommuter can establish secure communications with networks protected by Ravlin units or other security devices. Such remote users can access secure corporate resources, using either public networks or corporate dial-up lines. Combined with Ravlin hardware gateway devices at the network edge, Ravlin Soft provides a low-cost solution for low-bandwidth (56Kbps modem) Internet connections.

Virtual Private Networks

Virtual Private Networks do not employ their own network infrastructure; instead, they run on top of existing networks, such as the Internet. Information passed across a VPN  can be encrypted, ensuring confidentiality. In most cases, Ravlin units protect a local area network, typically installed between the LAN and the router as shown below at Company A's Seattle Headquarters and New York Office. Ravlin Soft clients provide the same level of security for remote users.

Advantages

As shown above, Ravlin Soft clients are a security tool for remote users. A key difference between normal remote access and using Ravlin Soft, however, is that no long-distance charges accrue from the use of the client. The user simply dials up the Internet using a local ISP, start up Ravlin Soft, and then "tunnels through the network" to obtain or send files, get e-mail, and other typical computing tasks. IPSec compliant encryption and user verification routines protect the data sent thru the tunnel. In addition, Ravlin Soft lets remote users appear as virtual nodes on the corporate LAN. This gives telecommuters (DSL, cable modem and dial-up) access to corporate resources as if they were directly connected to the LAN.

Modes of Operation

Ravlin Soft operates in two separate modes, Transport and Tunnel. Tunneling mode, the most commonly used mode, secures (via encryption and data authentication) each piece of information (also called a payload) that is sent during the transmissi0on, In Tunnel mode, the new IP packet contains the original IP packet, including both headers and data. Additional security-related information is added at both the beginning and end of the original packet. This process is called encapsulation. Encapsulation is what produces the private tunnel through the public network.

Transport mode also secures the data payload of each packet transmitted from the Ravlin Soft client to the destination. The difference is that transport modes modify, rather than encapsulate, the original IP packet that travels through the network. The original IP address is unchanged. Overhead is not as high, but, since the original header information is not encrypted, security isn't quite as strong.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Low Cost of Ownership

Preserves investments in existing network hardware, software, and experience by working with existing dial-up lines and network infrastructure.

Provides significant network cost savings by ensuring secure communications and data privacy over public networks like the Internet.

Delivers a breakthrough price/performance model for software encryption products.

IPSec VPN Standards Based

Ensures information privacy using full 56-bit DES and 168-bit Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard).

Uses X.509 v.3 digital certificates.

Verifies the sender's identity with Digital Signature Standard (DSS) and Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) protocols.

Establishes and maintains secure communications using the IPSec mandatory Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (IKE).

Provides encapsulated tunneling for integrity and confidentiality of IP datagrams, through the IP Encapsulating Security Payload (IPESP) tunneling mode protocol.