Re: VPN service -- Quick Poll

[Julian Y Koh <kohster () NORTHWESTERN EDU>]

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On Fri Mar 09 2012 08:18:36 Central Time, Zahid Mehmood wrote:
> 1.      Is your campus using, or does it plan to use,  VPN access for remote users?

We have been offering traditional remote access VPN services since 2000.

> 2 .     What vendor(s) and protocols (SSL, IPSec, other) are you using?

We are still using the aging Cisco VPN3000 platform right now for our traditional service, supporting PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, 
and the Cisco IPSec client.  In 2007 we began offering a specialized SSL VPN service for targeted groups of users with 
the Juniper SA platform.

In the coming months we will be replacing the VPN3000s with ASAs, so we will have to drop PPTP support and add the 
Cisco AnyConnect client as an option.

> 3.    How many concurrent remote users can your system support?

Traditional VPN can theoretically support a /21 of users, but the VPN3000s will start showing slowdowns around 600 
users, especially if a lot of them are PPTP users.  Normal max load these days is around 300 or so.  The SSL VPN 
service has a hardware limit in the thousands of users, but we're only currently licensed for 500 simultaneous, which 
is more than enough for now.

> 4.    Do you offer any specialized/custom VPN services for departments, researchers, etc.?  

Yes, the SSL VPN service is customized for groups and departments, since that uses split tunneling and reserved IP 
address ranges.  We currently have ~120 distinct groups that have signed up for the service.

> 5.    Is your VPN offering part of your DR plan/requirement?

Yes.

- -- 
Julian Y. Koh                         <mailto:kohster () northwestern edu>
Manager, Network Transport                         <phone:847-467-5780>
Telecommunications and Network Services         Northwestern University
PGP Public Key:<http://bt.ittns.northwestern.edu/julian/pgppubkey.html>

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