* Juniper small-office firewall/VPN appliance sports a wireless access point
Juniper is wheeling out a small-office firewall/VPN appliance with a built-in wireless access point that supports multiple levels of wireless security.
Called NetScreen 5GT Wireless, the box supports four different wireless interfaces or service set identifiers (SSID). These, in turn, can be mapped to separate security policies, so different machines can be granted access with different security policies. These policies can include different authentication methods, different types of encryption and the like.
Once a user device has connected to the access point, it can connect to other sites via an IPSec connection across the Internet.
The device is fitted with two antennas so it can support 802.11b and 802.11g. It also comes with an option to attach a separate antenna, so the appliance itself can be placed in a secure location – such as a locked metal cabinet – and the antenna can be placed outside where its signal won’t be blocked.
Some of these features are a little sophisticated for small offices, so many of them are available as separate options. Depending on which ones customers choose, the NetScreen-5GT Wireless ranges in price from $770 to $1,780.
Juniper notes that the box is not intended for an enterprise campus wireless LAN or large office. It lacks, for example, roaming support.
While the box is just being announced this week, Network World product tester Joel Snyder has already checked it out in his lab and written up an evaluation: https://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2005/030705-juniper-test.html
