NeoAccel Steers SSL VPNs into the Fast Lane - www ...

San Jose, CA-based NeoAccel today announced the newest version of its SSL VPN-Plus product meant to bring SSL VPNs into the same neighborhood as IPSec VPNs performance-wise.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) provide a vital service for many businesses by establishing a secure tunnel to networks from remote locations. IPSec-based VPNs are known for their reliability and speed but require IT intervention in the form of client software deployment and setup. As "first generation" VPN technology, IPSec-based products are shackled with "clients that were not developed for friendliness," says Frank Guerrero, NeoAccel's vice president of marketing.

SSL VPNs, on the other hand, are renowned for their ubiquity and low administrative overhead, but the chatty nature of the standard can slow transactions to a crawl. According to the company, this "second generation" represents both a step forward in terms of access and scalability but a step back in responsiveness as broadband connections proliferate.

NeoAccel bridges these two worlds with its SSL VPN-Plus gateway appliances.

Now up to version 3.0, the 1U SSL VPN-Plus comes in three models, the SGX-4800, SGX-2400, and SGX-1200. At the top of the product line, the SGX-4800 provides data exchange rates of up to 950 Mbps and support for up to 10,000 concurrent users. Down the ladder, the SGX-2400 and SGX-12000 support speeds of up to 500 Mbps and 250 Mbps, and concurrent user counts of 2,000 and 100, respectively.

All models are capable of 1,800 logins and 8,400 SSL transactions per second.

While the specs tell one story, the most obvious performance indicator is the noticeable decrease in transfer times, even by human standards. In tests, NeoAccel's appliances were able to transfer an 8.5 MB file in 23 seconds over a LAN, a 5-second penalty over native speeds but nearly 4 minutes faster than a traditional SSL VPN.

This is made possible by the company's Intelligent Connection Acceleration Architecture, a technology that allows the hardware to prevent "TCP over TCP meltdown," a condition exacerbated when "two connections are running out of sync," according to Guerrero. In typical SSL VPNs, the secure tunnel has to accommodate these two nested TCP connections, which in turn imposes a drag on transfer speeds as the end-user system is constantly engaged in maintaining the SSL connection.

Therefore, NeoAccel is making the case for replacing IPsec VPNs with the company's technology. Aside from a low IT maintenance profile - since there are no end-user clients to lord over - the product also makes it possible to extend NAC-like access policies to remote systems as well as fine grained network segmenting controls to keep users outside of the corporate firewall from reaching resources they shouldn't.

Moreover, the SSL-based products open a lifeline to all types of workers, including those with handhelds as well as laptop toters. Another side effect is that users of "all levels of sophistication can log into networks," extending secure communications to every type of employee, not just the tech savvy ones, says Guerrero.

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