D-Link unleashes high-performance rackmount addition to NetDefend multifunction VPN firewall security appliance family

D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumers and business, today announced the addition of the new high-performance DFL-1600 Rackmount VPN Firewall to its D-Link NetDefend line of business-class security solutions.

The new DFL-1600 is an easy-to-deploy multifunction VPN and firewall solution designed for enterprises and small to medium-sized businesses that demand superior performance and security.

Addressing growing concerns over network security, hacker attacks, virus threats and increasing privacy issues, the new DFL-1600 D-Link NetDefend Rackmount VPN Firewall securely controls traffic and content entering and exiting a business class network while maintaining the highest levels of performance and availability.

The new DFL-1600 Rackmount VPN Firewall includes D-Link's advanced ZoneDefense security technology, integrating with D-Link's business class xStack Switch series to defend against both external and internal security threats.

NetDefense isolates infected hosts that are generating unusual traffic using threshold rules to examine connections through the firewall. The threshold rules monitor the number of connections per second. When a pre-defined limit is reached, the firewall sends block requests to the switches.

"D-Link's integrated networking and security solutions simplify the task of building and maintaining business class networks, lowering their cost of ownership," said Tobie van Schalkwyk, Country Manager, D-Link South Africa. "The D-Link DFL-1600 NetDefend Rackmount VPN Firewall offers high return on investment through robust security features, flexible configuration and maximum network protection."

The DFL-1600 is a next-generation security appliance that provides integrated Network Address Translation (NAT), Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall, advanced content filtering, intrusion detection, bandwidth management, OSPF routing, and virtual private network (VPN) support in a single high performance solution. Supporting up to 400 000 concurrent sessions in a 1U rack-mountable chassis, the D-Link NetDefend Rackmount VPN Firewall includes six configurable gigabit Ethernet ports that can be used for LAN, WAN or DMZ connections.

To provide enterprise-class network security, the DFL-1600 has several flexible firewall features to manage, monitor and maintain a healthy and secure network. Network management features include: remote management, bandwidth control policies, URL/keyword blocking, access policies and SNMP. For network monitoring, the DFL-1600 supports e-mail alerts, system log, consistency checks, and real-time statistics. For at a glance monitoring, the 20x2 line LCM display provides hardware status info as well as alert events to enable visual verifications. These features, along with a firmware backup function, provide and maintain maximum network performance and security.

For optimal VPN configuration, the DFL-1600 has both an integrated VPN client and server to support almost any required VPN policy. This high-end appliance has a hardware VPN engine to support and manage up to 1 200 VPN connections. The DFL-1600 can support IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP protocols in client/server mode and can handle pass-through traffic as well. Advanced VPN configuration options include: DES/3DES/AES/Twofish/Blowfish/CAST-128 encryption, manual or IKE/ISAKMP key management, Quick/Main/Aggressive Negotiation modes, and VPN authentication support using either an external RADIUS server or the internal 500-user database.

Additional network control features supported by the DFL-1600 include 802.1q VLAN tagging and extensive high availability (HA) features. VLAN tagging supports integration of the DFL-1600 into your rack system with L2/L3 managed switches to segment your network and prioritise traffic. HA options include WAN fail-over, active/passive modes, device failure detection, link failure detection, and session synchronisation. Additionally, support for active clustering or load balancing optimises network uptime and performance.

Resellers buying the DFL-1600 from any of the D-Link authorised distributors until the end of June 2007, will receive 1 000 PLUSPOINTS per unit purchased in the Think D-Link Think Rewards reseller programme. Visit http://www.pluspoints.co.za to find out more.

The DFL-1600 is available through Comztek, Mustek and Pinnacle Micro at a suggested retail price of R29 730.

The unit has a limited lifetime warranty and 24/7 technical support including firmware updates.