* ClearPath releases VPN devices for small and midsize businesses
ClearPath Network this week is introducing three VPN appliances that use the company’s own mix of tunneling technologies and network-based management of the devices.
The three rack-mounted boxes are the SnapVPN 2401, 3401 and 5401, and they support a range of simultaneous users from 50 to 250.
The VPN runs SSL to encrypt tunneling information and Advanced Encryption Standard to encrypt the data payload.
Customers have Web access to ClearPath’s SnapView Web portal, which lets them configure each device and its VPN, firewall, intrusion detection and content filtering parameters. The portal lets customers monitor tunnels as well. The devices can discover each other via SnapView if the portal has been preconfigured to do so.
The new gear is meant for small and midsize businesses that have limited IT resources. The devices have three Ethernet ports to connect to the LAN, WAN and to a secure subnet behind the external firewall of a business.
The 2401 costs $4,699, the 3401 costs $6,329 and the 5401 costs $10,519.
ClearPath also offers a service option in which customers pay a flat monthly fee for a VPN service. The price per month for the service is $232 for a 2401 device, $273 for a 3401 and $774 for a 5401.
The devices and service are also available to service providers that want to offer a managed VPN service without investing the capital to build their own management back end.
These devices represent a step up for ClearPath, whose earlier two appliances were for the smallest offices only.
