* F5 claims Firepass devices can be up and running in 30 minutes
F5 is introducing an SSL VPN appliance called the Firepass 600, designed for small and midsize businesses.
This device supports a maximum of 25 users at a time, a step down from the company’s previous larger capacity product families that supported up to 1,000 concurrent users.
Along with the new box, the company has a new version of its Firepass Controller software that features simpler set up for Firepass devices, again tailored for SMBs that might not have extensive IT staff. The company claims the installation wizards make it possible to have the device up and running in half an hour.
Firepass Controller caches Web content so response times for users is reduced by cutting the amount of data that must be retrieved from corporate servers and proxied to remote users. A visual policy editor represents a graphical depiction of security policies and automatically configures Firepass devices to support them.
The software determines whether remote machines are trusted or not and can apply separate policies for trusted and untrusted machines. It checks whether remote machines have properly patched operating systems. An integrity checker that determines whether or not updated anti-virus software is turned on can be purchased separately for $995.
The new software also enables clustering Firepass boxes so they can load-balance incoming sessions. This feature is not an option for the Firepass 600.
Firepass 600 costs $3,995 for the appliance with a 10-user license or $5,495 with a 25-user license. Owners of a Firepass 600 with a 10-user license can buy an extra 15 license for $1,995.
