Take it to the edge Moving your e-commerce efforts beyond the basics. Network World, 2/22/99.
Network Alchemy whips up potent VPN brew
BY TIM GREENE
Network Alchemy is taking a new approach to virtual private networks (VPN): It is starting with the assumption that VPNs will become so big and so critical that customers will need high-capacity gear that just won't fail.
There are other big VPN boxes to be sure. For instance, some vendors have boxes that handle up to 5,000 VPN connections at a time. But if one of those stand-alone boxes fails, it brings down the whole VPN.
Network Alchemy sidesteps that problem with servers that load-share so, if one fails, others pick up the slack.
And Network Alchemy thinks big. Its first box, the VPN Server 5000, handles 20,000 simultaneous VPN connections. Up to 255 Server 5000s can be wired together to create a VPN that can handle a whopping five million users. Theoretically, 60 Network Alchemy boxes could handle the whole country.
For those who want to save money, Network Alchemy is planning to release a smaller server later this year.
Security support
Network Alchemy has crammed its servers with processing power to support its considerable list of security measures. The features include public- and private-key authentication, Data Encryption Standard encryption and tunneling protocols.
The company has 35 employees and is backed by $3 million in private funding plus $4 million from Trinity Venture Partners.
Network Alchemy gear is based on a proprietary operating system written by David Kashtan, the company's founder and chief technology officer. The operating system, known whimsically as DaveOS, was designed just to support network security, so the code contains no unnecessary overhead.
That is a virtue, says Mike Zboray, an analyst with Gartner Group, in Stamford, Conn. Network operating systems such as Unix or Windows NT can accommodate security features, but they are not strong enough.
"The best bet is something designed only to do remote access. It says, 'I take packets in and the only place they go is to a private network. I encrypt and decrypt. That's it,'" Zboray says.
From its claims and demonstrations, Network Alchemy looks promising.
Now we need to see if it will ultimately deliver.
Network Alchemy is taking a new approach to virtual private networks (VPN): It is starting with the assumption that VPNs will become so big and so critical that customers will need high-capacity gear that just won't fail.
There are other big VPN boxes to be sure. For instance, some vendors have boxes that handle up to 5,000 VPN connections at a time. But if one of those stand-alone boxes fails, it brings down the whole VPN.
Network Alchemy sidesteps that problem with servers that load-share so, if one fails, others pick up the slack.
And Network Alchemy thinks big. Its first box, the VPN Server 5000, handles 20,000 simultaneous VPN connections. Up to 255 Server 5000s can be wired together to create a VPN that can handle a whopping five million users. Theoretically, 60 Network Alchemy boxes could handle the whole country.
For those who want to save money, Network Alchemy is planning to release a smaller server later this year.
Security support
Network Alchemy has crammed its servers with processing power to support its considerable list of security measures. The features include public- and private-key authentication, Data Encryption Standard encryption and tunneling protocols.
The company has 35 employees and is backed by $3 million in private funding plus $4 million from Trinity Venture Partners.
Network Alchemy gear is based on a proprietary operating system written by David Kashtan, the company's founder and chief technology officer. The operating system, known whimsically as DaveOS, was designed just to support network security, so the code contains no unnecessary overhead.
That is a virtue, says Mike Zboray, an analyst with Gartner Group, in Stamford, Conn. Network operating systems such as Unix or Windows NT can accommodate security features, but they are not strong enough.
"The best bet is something designed only to do remote access. It says, 'I take packets in and the only place they go is to a private network. I encrypt and decrypt. That's it,'" Zboray says.
From its claims and demonstrations, Network Alchemy looks promising.
Now we need to see if it will ultimately deliver.