SSL VPN market’s first support of Microsoft’s Windows Vista
F5 Networks announced an enhanced version of its FirePass Controller SSL VPN software. The new release provides the SSL VPN market’s first support of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. It also features seamless integration with F5’s BIG-IP Global Traffic Management product to ensure superior performance, scalability and “always on” access for FirePass users worldwide. In addition, F5 debuted its FirePass 4300 hardware platform for large-scale deployments, delivering the best price performance available for enterprises with up to tens of thousands of users.
For remote access, F5 continues to be a leading provider of enterprise-class SSL VPN solutions. Unlike IPsec VPNs, which require pre-installed client software and configuration of remote devices, the FirePass SSL VPN solution allows remote users to gain secure access to corporate applications and data via a standard Web browser. And, the FirePass product supports a broad range of client operating systems, including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS X, Linux, and PocketPC.
Highlights of the new FirePass product include:
* Vista client support – Increased organization productivity by enabling remote users to access applications from a wide variety of client devices including Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Mac OS X, Linux and PocketPC.
* Integration with BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM) – Ensures high availability and superior performance for global remote access deployments. BIG-IP GTM can dynamically query a FirePass device and re-direct users to another FirePass device in any location, based on the remaining number of concurrent user sessions or CPU load. In addition, customers can use the combined FirePass and BIG-IP GTM solution to ensure business continuity in case of site failures or emergencies.
New FirePass software will be available at the end of February and the FirePass 4300 hardware will be available in March. The product ships with built-in support for all access modes (Network access, Application access, Portal access) and endpoint security. Existing F5 customers with current maintenance agreements can take advantage of all the capabilities in the new release of the FirePass product.