VPN

VPN RFP Series: Product Upgrades

In the fast-paced VPN market, new products and firmware/software upgrades are released every month. Before concluding our VPN RFP series, we wanted to bring ISP-Planet readers up-to-date on major product upgrades released since NetScreen, RapidStream, and SonicWALL responded to our RFP and their proposed solutions were submitted to our lab for evaluation.

by Lisa Phifer Vice President of Core Competence, Inc. [December 21, 2001]

NetScreen-25, NetScreen-50, and NetScreen-Global PRO 3.0
NetScreen proposed the NetScreen-10 for branch offices. This model is being replaced by two new models, released in November. The NetScreen-50 ($5995) includes four 10/100 ports (one reserved as future DMZ or HA). According to NetScreen, the NetScreen-50 firewalls 8,000 sessions at 170 Mbps and encrypts 100 IPsec tunnels at 50 Mbps. The NetScreen-25 ($3595) also includes four ports, but the reserved fourth is not intended for HA. It firewalls 4,000 sessions at 100 Mbps and encrypts 25 IPsec tunnels at 20 Mbps. Both are built on the GigaScreen ASIC and run ScreenOS, supporting the firewall, VPN, and traffic management features identified our evaluation.

NetScreen proposed NetScreen-Global PRO 2.0, a Solaris-based carrier-class manager. In our Win32 testbed, we evaluated the entry-level NetScreen-Global Manager. In December, NetScreen-Global PRO 3.0 was released. NetScreen-Global PRO Express 3.0 runs from $5,995 (25 devices) to $14,995 (100 devices), replacing the tested NetScreen-Global Manager. Big brother NetScreen-Global PRO 3.0 is priced at $19,995 (100 devices), $49,995 (1000 devices), and $11,995 (additional 1000 device licenses).

RapidStream-2000
RapidStream's RFP response proposed both the RSSA 4000 and the RSSA 2000. Although the unit we received and tested identified itself as "RSSA 4000", RapidStream renumbered this part of its product line during our lab evaluation. The unit originally sold as the RSSA 2000 was discontinued. The unit we tested, originally sold as the RSSA 4000, was renamed the RSSA 2000 ($4995). As described in our lab evaluation, the new RSSA 2000 supports 8000 concurrent sessions and 400 IPsec tunnels. There have no other price or major feature changes since our RapidStream lab evaluation.

SonicWALL TELE3, SOHO3, PRO 300, and SGMS 2.1
All products proposed by SonicWALL underwent hardware upgrades and price changes in December. However, the firewall and VPN features supported by SonicWALL firmware remain those identified in our lab evaluation.

The SonicWALL TELE2 was replaced by the TELE3 (5 user version $495). The SonicWALL SOHO2 was replaced by the SOHO3 (with VPN $990). These upgrades add memory, a CyberSentry security processor, and a serial port for out-of-band management. According to SonicWALL, these appliances now firewall 6K sessions and encrypt at 20Mbps. The SonicWALL PRO-VX was replaced by the PRO 300 ($3995 with 50 VPN clients). This upgrade also added memory and the CyberSentry processor, increasing capacity to 128K sessions and 45Mbps 3DES encryption.

As noted in our evaluation, an overhauled version of the SonicWall Global Management System (SGMS) was released this fall. SGMS 2.1 (from $4995 for 25 devices) adds a master/slave architecture, console load balancing and redundancy, support for multiple admins, and scalability to provision thousands of SonicWALL devices.

For Further Information
Except as noted, these upgrades occurred in November-December, 2001, after ISP-Planet lab testing concluded. To learn more about these recent upgrades, please refer to each vendor's website:

• http://www.netscreen.com
• http://www.rapidstream.com
• http://www.sonicwall.com

Tune in next year (just two weeks from now) for our VPN RFP series closer: a point-by-point comparison between SonicWALL, RapidStream, and NetScreen solutions and their suitability for ISP deployment to small businesses.

And when you've read all three evaluations, don't forget to participate in our poll:

—End