SonicWALL VPN

VPNs are Based on the IPSec and SSL Standards

Traditional remote access required companies to lease expensive, dedicated data lines or maintain modem banks, telephone lines, and pay telecommunication usage charges to support dial-up users. The prohibitive costs of dedicated data lines forced most small and medium organizations to use slow, dial-up connections for remote access. Even this option was expensive and complex to deploy.

With the advent of affordable broadband and standards-based VPN, organizations can bypass these expensive and complex remote access solutions. A VPN delivers remote access via ubiquitous Internet connections. With today’s VPN technology and broadband connections, companies of any size use the Internet to securely extend the reach of their network resources. With the advent of ubiquitous Internet access and VPN technology, remote access is handled through the same connection used for Internet service.

Working Smarter with VPNs

SonicWALL VPN enables simple and cost effective remote access for telecommuters, branch offices, partners and others you want to give access to your network resources. SonicWALL’s IPSec-based VPN seamlessly operates with SonicWALL Internet security appliances to create an integrated security and remote access solution. Because SonicWALL VPN is based on the IPSec standard, it’s compatible with other VPN gateways, including Check Point Firewall-1, Cisco PIX, Nortel Contivity and Axent Raptor. SonicWALL VPN is easy to set up using the streamlined Web-based interface incorporated in every SonicWALL Internet security appliance.

Hardware vs. Software Based VPN

There are two main types of security and remote access options available today: software and hardware. Software based firewall/VPN gateways running a computer or server have inherent problems:

A general-purpose computer is not the most reliable device for the processing demands of security. Firewall/VPN applications are data intensive, and placing these processing demands on a computer or processor can slow down the network.

A general-purpose computer's operating system isn't designed with bulletproof security in mind. Configuring computer-based firewall and VPN gateways require that you harden the operating system. This means ensuring the operating system always has the latest security patches to fix new security flaws.

The complexity of current software configurations has been problematic, particularly ease of use and management.

The hardware based firewall/VPN solutions such as SonicWALL's, typically embodied in security appliances, protects the entire network and offloads all the firewall and VPN processing from the computers. Because security appliances protect the network at the Internet gateway, they provide a platform for seamless local or remote management of all security and remote access services. A security appliance is a solid-state platform with a powerful onboard processor to handle the demands of firewall and VPN processing.

IPSec VPN vs. SSL VPN

IPSec VPN is best suited for site-to-site VPNs - sharing all network resources with trusted branch offices whereas SSL VPN is suited for a diverse community of users – employees, telecommuters, partners, customers etc. with varying degrees of access. With an SSL VPN, end-user access is restricted unless authorized. With IPSec VPNs, users are authorized unless restricted. Combining the restrictive access and clientless convenience, SSL VPN can secure all data streams between the user and network, while IPSec VPN remains a proven solution to protect data streams from network to network. SSL VPN can be considered a complimentary solution to IPSec VPN, rather than a competing one. For more information on this subject, click here

   Site-to-Site VPNs

In a distributed business model, branch offices and POS locations extend a company's reach into key markets, but that communication link must be available 24x7 and be able to support the business' applications. SonicWALL VPN solutions help companies establish centralized control over remote access points and provide the robust security and performance needed for business continuance. SonicWALL firewall/VPN solutions enable secure, high-speed communications between multiple locations.

  Remote Access VPNs

Today, your office is where you are: at home, at the airport, at a café. Customers, partners and contractors need access to your business from anywhere. And uncertainties ranging from natural disasters, pandemics and terrorism to fires, power outages and hard drive crashes can threaten to disrupt network access. SonicWALL SSL VPNs offer secure remote access to mission-critical resources from virtually any end point—including desktops, laptops, PDAs and smartphones. SonicWALL also provides optional remote help desk support to non-IT-managed laptops and PCs.  Alleviating overhead costs associated with deploying and maintaining per-seat VPN clients, SonicWALL SSL VPNs deliver easy, scalable remote access solutions to fit every organization, from small- to mid-sized businesses to the largest global enterprise.

 

Operating System

Utilizing SonicWALL’s feature-rich SonicOS operating system, SonicWALL VPN appliances offer a choice between absolute ease-of-use for basic networks and ultimate flexibility for networks with more complex needs. SonicOS Standard allows rapid deployment in basic networks with a user-friendly Web interface and powerful wizards. Building upon SonicOS Standard, SonicOS Enhanced is an optional software upgrade that provides advanced features including WAN ISP Fail-Over, Object-Based Management and Policy-Based NAT, for more complex network installations. With integrated support for SonicWALL’s portfolio of optional security services, VPN appliances provide rock-solid network security, powerful performance and low total-cost-of-ownership in a flexible, scalable solution.

  VPN Management

SonicWALL's Global Management System (GMS) allows your organization to define, deploy, and enforce security policies across the distributed network from a central location. Via a secure VPN tunnel, a single administrator can manage remote SonicWALL VPN Appliances to ensure uniform security and VPN policies are pushed to all remote sites. This centralized management of your security and VPN system eliminates the user from the security management matrix to ensure uniform policies across all your remote sites.