Virtual Private Network Technology Takes Reigns At NetWorld+Interop
[Info on ASND and Aventail products]
By Charlotte Dunlap, Computer Reseller News
techweb.com
Virtual private network (VPN) technology will be a dominant theme
at this week's NetWorld+Interop show in Las Vegas as router,
remote access, security, and networking vendors all unveil their
wares in this burgeoning area.
It used to be that only employees were looking for remote access to
corporate networks. Now partners, customers, and resellers are
knocking on the door of the corporate firewalls and asking for
access to an enterprise network, paving the way for VPNs.
Remote access vendor Ascend Communications will unveil Tuesday its VPN technology, which runs not only across IP-based networks, but also addresses frame relay and ATM networks.
Alameda, Calif.-based Ascend, which says it is the industry's largest installed VPN today, will roll out an entirely new technology strategy titled MultiVPN to address compatibility, security, availability, and manageability of VPNs.
"We go beyond where the world focuses on VPNs and created a VPN definition that not only includes IP, but also frame relay and ATM," said Kurt Bauer, vice president of access product management at Ascend.
Ascend's new products include: Navis Customer Network Management Gateway, which creates read/write VPN customer network management services; Navis Service-Level Agreement Reporting, which automates the process of monitoring service contracts; and the VPN Routing for IP Navigator, which creates IP-based VPN services delivered over high-speed frame relay and ATM.
Bauer added that the MultiVPN architecture also includes a provider subscriber architecture so value-added resellers not only can install Ascend's remote access products, but also provide ongoing services to the client's network based on the design of the technology.
Bauer said a recent research study showed the primary area of technology enterprise customers were willing to outsource to resellers was VPN design. "So VARs can install VPNs on the site, then broker wide-area services to support them," he said.
Another VPN vendor, Aventail, in Seattle, is unwrapping this week an enhanced version of its VPN product, VPNa v2.7, which includes enhanced policy capabilities that tighten access control to the enterprise network.
Vendors such as Aventail and Ascend, which once focused almost exclusively on remote access, are now expanding their technologies to include e-commerce communications and partner access or extranets.
. . . RELATED LINKS . . .
VPNs Poised For Growth -- And Problems
Netscape Will Target Emerging Enterprise Service Provider
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