Cisco Fortifies VPN Products

Cisco Systems Tuesday padded its network security portfolio with enhancements to two of its virtual private network VPN products.

by Michael Singer of siliconvalley.internet.com [September 25, 2002]

Cisco Systems took the wraps off of its CiscoWorks VPN/Security Management Solution (VMS) Version 2.1 and wireless LAN enhancements to Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) Version 3.1.

The company said the two revised products are targeted at IT managers and system administrators that use Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrators and Cisco 1700/2600/3600/7100/7200 routers. The products are specifically designed to support the SAFE security blueprint for Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID).

VPN services have been leading the pack in terms of revenue and number of subscribers, according to a recent broadband survey, mostly because VPN services have become so important to the operations of many businesses where other services will be seen as more of a luxury. The challenge, however, has been making all of the pieces work.

"As customers increasingly integrate security throughout the network, there are associated management challenges," said Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala.

Version 2.1 of CiscoWorks VMS includes a Management Center for PIX Firewalls, Intrusion Detection (IDS) Sensors, support for Virtual Private Network (VPN) Routers, and a Monitoring Center for Security.

The platform also offers multi-faceted scalability through its Auto Update Server, a policy management tool for updating remote and home office locations; a centralized management tool to manage remote dynamically addressed devices and update common rules for multiple devices; surveillance of Cisco PIX firewalls, network IDS, host IDS and VPN routers; advanced change management, a work-flow model to that helps make changes on a large number of devices.

Cisco also announced today updates to its identity and access control solution, the Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) 3.1. The platform now includes new Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) support for Protected EAP (PEAP) for use in wireless LAN deployments.

The product also supports PEAP, a new IETF EAP protocol based on the IEEE 802.1x security architecture for wireless authentication. The standard retains the security benefits of LEAP while maintaining one-time token authentication, password change and expire support and database extensibility to hold up LDAP/NDS directories.

CiscoWorksVMS 2.1 is currently available for a list price starting at $7,995. CiscoWorksACS 3.1 is available now for the list price of $5,995.

— End