VPN
Firewall technologies
To reduce security risks, appropriate network access policies should be defined as part of business strategy. Firewalls can be used to enforce such policies. A firewall is a network interconnection element that polices traffic the flows between internal (protected) networks and external (public) networks such as the Internet. Firewalls can also be used to “segment” internal networks.
The application of firewall technologies only represents a portion of an overall security strategy. Firewall solutions do not guarantee 100% security by themselves. These technologies must be complemented with other security measures, such as user authentication and encryption, to achieve a complete solution.
The three technologies that are most commonly used in firewall products are packet filtering, proxy servers, and hybrid. These technologies operate at different levels of detail, and thus they provide varying degrees of network access protection. That means that these technologies are not mutually exclusive. A firewall product may implement several of these technologies simultaneously.
Network management and outsourcing models
While enterprises acknowledge the critical role that the Internet and IP VPNs can play in their strategic eBusiness initiatives, they face a range of choices for implementing their VPNs. The options range from
Increasingly, enterprises are assessing their VPN implementation options across a spectrum of
●Enterprise based. This option operates over a public network facility (most commonly the Internet) using equipment that is owned and operated by the enterprise. Its greatest benefit to the enterprise is the degree of flexibility and control it offers over VPN deployment, administration, and adaptability or change.
●Fully outsourced. This managed service could be implemented by a collection of partners, including an ISP and a security integration partner. Its advantages include quick deployment, easy global scalability, and freedom from overhead network management.
●Shared management. With this hybrid approach, a partner can take responsibility for major elements of infrastructure deployment and management, but the enterprise retains control over key aspects of policy definition and security management.
