Cisco 1700 Series VPN Module hardware firewall

Cisco 1700 Series VPN Module Cisco Systems® offers a wide range of VPN products, from VPN-optimized routers, firewalls, and dedicated VPN concentrators, to hardware and software-based VPN clients, and clientless Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-based VPNs, resulting in a complete portfolio of VPN solutions able to meet the requirements of any organization.

The extensive portfolio of Cisco VPN solutions includes Cisco IOS VPN Security routers and Cisco Catalyst switches, Cisco VPN 3000 Series concentrators, and Cisco PIX® security appliances. These VPN solutions are designed with mission-specific feature sets, and implement leading VPN technologies such as IP security (IPSec) and SSL to allow customers to deploy the best technologies available based on their network environments and requirements.

IPSec VPN provides remote users with the most robust remote access environment by extending almost any data, voice, or video application available in the office to remote working locations—which allows for a user experience that emulates working in the main office location.

SSL-based VPN is an emerging technology that provides remote access connectivity from almost any Internet-enabled location using a Web browser and its native SSL encryption. SSL-based VPNs allow users to access Web pages and a growing set of Web-enabled services—including the ability to access files, send and receive e-mail, and run Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)-based applications—without the use of VPN client software. Although the ability to access applications does not equal that of IPSec VPNs, SSL-based VPNs are an excellent fit for user populations that require per-application/server access control or access from non-enterprise owned desktops.

SSL-based and IPSec VPNs are complementary technologies that can be deployed together to better address the unique access requirements of diverse user communities. To that extent, Cisco has enhanced its widely deployed IPSec VPN products to deliver SSL-based VPN (clientless, Web browser-based) services as well, providing the benefits of both technologies on a single device.1 This strategy eases deployment and management by using existing installed infrastructure, while preserving customer investments in existing VPN equipment.

In addition, the innovative Cisco Easy VPN capabilities found in Cisco VPN 3000 Series concentrators, PIX security appliances and CiscoIOS routers deliver uniquely scalable, cost-effective, and easy-to-manage remote-access VPN architecture. Built upon the foundation of dynamic policy distribution and effortless provisioning, Cisco Easy VPN eliminates the operational costs associated with maintaining remote-device configurations typically required by traditional VPN solutions. Easy VPN enables Cisco customers to enjoy the many benefits that VPNs provide—such as increased employee productivity as a result of high-speed broadband connectivity, and significantly reduced operational costs that result from eliminating legacy dialup architecture expenses—without the problems commonly associated with other remote-access VPN solutions.

Cisco Easy VPN consists of two components: Cisco Easy VPN Server and Cisco Easy VPN Remote. The Cisco Easy VPN Server allows CiscoIOS routers, Cisco PIX security appliances, and Cisco VPN 3000 concentrators to act as VPN head-end devices in site-to-site or remote-access VPNs, where the remote office devices are using the Cisco Easy VPN Remote feature. Using this feature, security policies defined at the head-end are pushed to the remote VPN device, thereby insuring those connections have up-to-date policies in place before the connection is established. The Cisco Easy VPN Remote feature is supported by a wide range of platforms, including Cisco IOS routers, Cisco PIX security appliances, Cisco VPN 3002 hardware clients and Cisco VPN software clients.