Reviews - Channel Insider
Empowering the next generation Channel
 

Bull’s Eye Awards
Nominations Open for Channel Insider 2009 Bull’s Eye Awards
Nominations are now open for the Channel Insider 2009 Bull’s Eye Awards, which recognize excellence in customer service, technology prowess, business acumen, channel leadership, communications and community building, and innovation among vendors, solution providers, distributors and channel services companies.



Sponsored Links
  • Control VM Sprawl, What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
  • FREE Sophos Encryption Tool: Encrypt, compress and share files easily
  • LSI 6Gb/s Portfolio Expands to Include SATA+SAS HBAs
  • Reduce the cost of managing your mobile workers.
  • Find out 7 Ways to Drive Data Center Efficiency
  • SonicWALL breaks through network and email gridlock
  • Save up to 40% on calling costs with Avaya Aura™



  •  

    Zyxel Melds 3G, Wi-Fi to Create a Wireless Security Appliance

    in Reviews


    Article Rating:starstarstarstarstar / 8
    Article Views: 4519

      Table of Contents:
    1. Zyxel Melds 3G, Wi-Fi to Create a Wireless Security Appliance
    2. WAN Without Wires: Using the 2WG

    Rate This Article:
    Add This Article To:
    Zyxel Melds 3G, Wi-Fi to Create a Wireless Security Appliance - WAN Without Wires: Using the 2WG
    ( Page 2 of 2 )

     

    Solution providers will find deploying the ZyWALL 2WG a straight-forward process, which consists of little more than powering up the unit, logging into the unit via a browser connection and running what amounts to little more than a simple setup wizard. In other words, basic connectivity is just a few keystrokes away. Beyond the Basic setup, installers will need to have a decent amount of networking knowledge to properly configure the product. That is not an indication of a poor design, but more of an indication of the high-end options offered by the unit.

    Resource Library:

    The unit can be managed in a number of ways, solution providers can perform tasks via a direct connection using a console port, over a wireless connection, remotely (via the Web or a modem plugged into the AUX port) and via a traditional Ethernet connection to one of the unit’s LAN/DMZ ports.

    However, in most cases, solution providers will set up and manage the unit via the “Web Configurator,” a browser-based application that is accessed via Internet Explorer (or compatible browsers) over an IP connection.

    By the default, the unit is set up as a router and in most cases, which will be the preferred configuration. As a router, the unit can provide VPN connectivity, perform NAT and DHCP. Installers will be able to configure both WAN 1 (wired connection) and WAN 2 (3G Wireless) quite easily. Those 2 WAN connections can be configured for fail over, load balancing or disabled individually. For the most part, the rest of the routing configuration is pretty much the same as a typical broadband router.

    Installers also have the ability to set up the unit as a transparent firewall that proves to be the ideal configuration for sites that already have a broadband router and want to add security at the edge, along with DMZ capabilities. Each of the four wired ports can be configured for LAN or DMZ use, which allows installers to segment the internal and external legs of the LAN and support Web servers or other hosts that need access from the Web. It would be an added bonus if the four LAN ports supported gigabit Ethernet, especially if one will be plugging servers and NAS units into the device. Better yet, expanding the LAN/DMZ to 8 10/100/1000 ports could make the 2WG the central connectivity point for a small office.

    For VPN connectivity, the unit can support incoming IPSEC VPN connections and direct VPN connections to remote routers. VPN setup proves to be quite easy, thanks to a VPN setup wizard, which does all of the heavy lifting of programming and configuration. Another security feature of interest is the unit’s content filtering capability, which offers code blocking features, keyword blocking, URL filtering and can be configured to work with third-party Web Content Filtering Services.

    The integrated VPN server can support as many as five concurrent IPSec connections and offers DES/TripleDES/AES encryption, along with Manual Key, IKE and PKI(X.509). IPSec NAT traversal is also supported as well as Xauth User Authentication. The integrated firewall is preconfigured to protect against DoS and DDoS attacks and features SPI with full logging. Administrators can fine tune the firewall to meet their specific needs and have access to features such as port triggering and full port access control. The wireless portion of the device features all of the expected security features, ranging from WEP to WPA-PSK.

    With a price of just $369, the ZyWALL offers quite a lot of bang for the buck and can serve most branch office and small business needs. The ability to switch over to 3G connectivity creates a new world of opportunity for solution providers looking to tap new markets or vertical markets that rate mobility above all else. 



     
     
    >>> More Reviews Articles          >>> More By Frank Ohlhorst
     


     


    [ci] feeds
    XML
    Add Channel News, Product Reviews, Trends and Analysis to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo!


    HTML PLAIN TEXT

    Keep on top of news for VARs and Resellers with CI's Weekly Newsletter and Alerts.

     


    CHANNEL RESOURCE CENTER
     
     
    Enterprise Mobility Zone
    The Enterprise Mobility Zone (EMZ) blog is a tool designed to help senior IT executives discuss, create and deploy next-generation mobile strategies in their organizations.
    Go beyond yesterday's tactical approach to mobility!
     
    Build A More Efficient Data Center
    Demands are growing but budgets are not. Solve your pressing IT issues using the resources you already have. Determine which technologies can help you drive efficiencies and how they are applied. Gain a quick ROI on new initiatives
    Find out how
    Let Enterprise TechBrief do the work for you. Aggregated content, tech news, product reviews, vendor updates, how-to’s—all you need to boost your efficiencies and cut costs, all from one place.
    enterprisetechbrief.com