Virtualization
The concept of virtualization is becoming more and more popular among enterprise customers. For SSL VPNs, the need for virtualization is natural. Enterprises like to provide different remote access VPN presences to different user groups, such as partners and different departments of employees. The following are some basic capabilities you should consider for a "virtualized" SSL VPN deployment:
- Provides a customized SSL VPN presence for individual user groups. For example, each business partner has its own SSL VPN sign-in page with a customized user interface.
- Provides customized authentication methods and VPN group policies for different user groups.
- Provides management roles for running each VPN separately.
- Has total separation of different VPNs in terms of system resources, routing tables, user databases, and policy management interfaces.
Some SSL VPN vendors supply the first three capabilities in the previous list without having to provide a full virtualized implementation. For each VPN user group, the SSL VPN provides a dedicated sign-in URL. For example, partner A has a sign-in URL of https://www.companyxyz.com/vpn_for_partnerA, and partner B has a different sign-in URL of https://www.companyxzy.com/vpn_for_partnerB. Each sign-in URL has a customized user interface, such as a logo, page layout, and resource bookmarks. Each sign-in URL is associated with a different set of authentication methods and policy flows that are also specifically designed to meet different user group requirements. To the end user, the experience is "virtualized." However, from the SSL VPN system perspective, it is not virtualized.
The fourth capability in the previous list calls for a true virtualization, not only at the user level but also at the system resource level and policy management level. This is normally a requirement for service providers who provide managed remote access VPN services to multiple customers. These customers often demand total traffic and resource and management separation from other VPN customers. This can also be a requirement for large enterprises that have remote access VPNs for different trade partners.