Review: Secure Remote Access Priced Right For SMBs

The ProSafe SSL312 will grant secure access while barring outsiders. It provides clientless, Web-based remote access for up to 25 concurrent users. The CRN Test Center recommends the appliance for businesses with less than 100 employees.

With a list price of $545, the ProSafe SSL312 is more palatable for SMBs than something like the Cisco ASA 5500 VPN Edition, which also supports 25 users but costs more than $2,000.

The ProSafe SSL312 provides high-performance remote access using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and Transport Layer Security (TLS) with the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256). SSL allows secure servers to authenticate with SSL-enabled clients, including Web browsers, so that an encrypted connection can be established. This lets a mobile user connect to a corporate network securely from browser software such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Apple Safari.

Once connected, users can access e-mail and other office productivity applications. Remote management utilities can also be accessed securely.

The ProSafe SSL312 is easy to deploy, since solution providers don't have to install VPN clients on remote computers. Instead, secure access is furnished by a cross-platform download that's automatically pushed to remote computers in a transparent manner.

There also are no licensing restrictions, and the SSL312 easily integrates with most user-authentication repositories, including Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP and RADIUS. It also will work with Netgear's ProSafe firewalls as well as third-party units.

The ProSafe SSL312 includes two 10/100 Ethernet ports and a console port for serial DTE remote management purposes. A computer must be set up as a management station for configuring the SSL312. The computer must contain an Ethernet adapter and be configured with a static IP address and subnet mask. The ProSafe SSL VPN Concentrator 25 software must also be installed on the computer.

Once the management station is set up, solution providers must log into the ProSafe SSL312's management interface from a browser and configure a password, SSL certificate and other system settings, such as user and group, authentication domains and portal layouts, network resource objects and so on.

In the event of trouble, the ProSafe SSL312's management interface includes system status, event logging, alerting and reporting features. Log messages can be sent to an external syslog server, and alert messages can be delivered to an e-mail address or a pager. For SMBs with no IT staff, solution providers will probably want to receive these alerts directly.