Cisco Systems has announced its unified virtual private network (VPN) client strategy, aimed at simplifying the process of managing VPN networks, while lowering total cost of ownership.
The networking company has also introduced the Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client, an appliance for branch and home offices, and extended availability of its multi-protocol Cisco VPN 5001 Concentrator to channel partners.
The unified VPN client strategy is a new framework with a specification to enable VPN connectivity between all desktop, laptop and personal digital assistant clients and the full range of Cisco VPN-enabled concentrators, routers and firewalls.
Utilising "push policy" capabilities, the unified VPN client framework allows customers to centrally manage security policies, while delivering large-scale VPN connectivity to remote users. All of Cisco`s IPsec-based VPN products for the enterprise and service providers will support the unified VPN client framework.
"This is the first time that any major vendor has devised a roadmap for IPsec VPN clients that works across both enterprise and service provider networks," says Raymond Janse van Rensburg, systems engineer at Cisco Systems Southern Africa.
"Cisco`s VPN client framework will simplify the remote user`s experience, while improving the company`s ability to vastly reduce the cost and complexity of VPN deployments."
The first implementation of this unified client framework is available for the Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator series via Cisco VPN Client Release 3.0 software. Further implementations will be added for other enterprise and service provider "edge" devices, including the Cisco PIX Firewall family, Cisco 7100/7200 VPN routers, the Cisco VPN 5000 Concentrator series and all modules providing VPN capabilities for Cisco IOS routers and switches.
At the same time, Cisco will add interoperability for all major operating systems, including Macintosh, Linux and Solaris, in addition to the currently supported Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/2000/CE/Me and Palm Pilot platforms.
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