NETGEAR SSL312 manual Two Approaches for VPN

Chapter 6

Configuring the SSL VPN Tunnel Client and Port

Forwarding

This chapter describes the configuration for the SSL VPN Tunnel Client and for Port Forwarding. When a remote user accesses the SSL VPN Concentrator from a PC that allows ActiveX content, these two powerful features can be activated. For each of these features, the SSL312 installs a small client program on the user’s PC that enables a more direct level of network access than is possible from the browser alone.

This chapter includes:

•Two Approaches for VPN

•SSL VPN Client Configuration

•Configuring Applications for Port Forwarding

Two Approaches for VPN

Two portal features allow direct VPN access to the corporate network. The SSL VPN Tunnel Client allows full network access similar to an IPSec VPN connection. Port Forwarding allows direct network access for selected client-server applications.

When a remote user accesses the SSL VPN Portal, one of the listed options is to Establish an SSL VPN Tunnel. When this feature is selected, the SSL VPN Concentrator will install a small VPN Tunnel Client program on the user’s PC that will allow the remote user to virtually join the corporate network. The VPN Tunnel Client provides a PPP (point-to-point) connection between the client and the SSL VPN Concentrator, and a virtual network interface is created on the user’s PC. The SSL VPN Concentrator will assign the PC an IP address and DNS server IP addresses, allowing the remote PC to access network resources in the same manner as if it were connected directly to the corporate network.

Port Forwarding, like VPN Tunnel, is a web-based client that installs transparently and then creates a virtual, encrypted tunnel to the remote network. However, Port Forwarding differs from VPN Tunnel in several ways. For example, Port Forwarding:

•Only supports TCP connections, not UDP or other IP protocols.

6-1

v2.0, May 2007