VPN service vendor OpenReach has added a firewall to its offerings, following a trend in which vendors are trying to simplify overall branch-office security.
The firewall comes standard with OpenReach's $99 per-site per-month VPN service, and protects branch offices from unauthorized access. The firewall relieves customers from having to configure a third-party firewall to interoperate with OpenReach VPN appliances.
The firewall is part of an upgrade of the company's TrueSpan software that also includes IP address sharing, enabling multiple devices at a branch office to share a single IP address. This eliminates the problem that insecure IP Security (IPSec) VPN traffic has when getting through network address translation devices.
TrueSpan now also enables end users to configure monitoring tools so they gather just the specific network performance metrics they want. Customers can configure the software to look for problems, such as downed connections, and trigger alerts that can be delivered via pager or e-mail.
OpenReach runs a unique business: a VPN service based on appliances customers build themselves. Customers supply dedicated PCs and download TrueSpan software to convert the computers into VPN appliances. These appliances are then configured to set up secure IPSec tunnels with each other. This configuration is done over the Internet via OpenReach's network operations center.
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