Netgear FVS318N User Manual

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7
7.   
Virtual Private Networking 
Using SSL Connections
The wireless VPN firewall provides a hardware-based SSL VPN solution designed specifically to 
provide remote access for mobile users to their corporate resources, bypassing the need for a 
preinstalled VPN client on their computers. Using the familiar Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 
protocol, commonly used for e-commerce transactions, the wireless VPN firewall can 
authenticate itself to an SSL-enabled client, such as a standard web browser. Once the 
authentication and negotiation of encryption information are completed, the server and client can 
establish an encrypted connection. With support for up to 5 dedicated SSL VPN tunnels, the 
wireless VPN firewall allows users to easily access the remote network for a customizable, 
secure, user portal experience from virtually any available platform.
This chapter contains the following sections:
SSL VPN Portal Options
The wireless VPN firewall’s SSL VPN portal can provide two levels of SSL service to the 
remote user:
SSL VPN tunnel. The wireless VPN firewall can provide the full network connectivity of a 
VPN tunnel using the remote user’s browser instead of a traditional IPSec VPN client. 
The SSL capability of the user’s browser provides authentication and encryption, 
establishing a secure connection to the wireless VPN firewall. Upon successful 
connection, an ActiveX-based SSL VPN client is downloaded to the remote computer to 
allow the remote user to virtually join the corporate network.