With roaming access and working from home becoming more and more a regular part of working life, the pressure on businesses to provide access to the company network from anywhere is steadily mounting.
This has traditionally been the sort of thing only large organisations with dedicated IT departments try to tackle, but with the right product, for example Billion's BiGuard S5 SSL VPN Starter Pack, it is actually easier and more affordable than most people realise.
The BiGuard S5 is a four-port Ethernet router that links to a broadband Internet connection directly, through an ADSL or cable modem, or through another router. It can be set up to work in a number of ways: to act as a network firewall while handling incoming connections and Internet access for the rest of the network; to sit between an existing firewall router and some or all of the local network devices and services (this is probably the least disruptive approach); to connect to an existing DMZ (de-militarised zone, a section of a network kept outside the main secured network); or even to bridge DMZ and private network zones for a full mix of public and secure privileged access.
A number of services are provided as part of the BiGuard S5's standard features, and these are all accessed using a standard web browser. Not everything that this device can provide is available to Mac users, unfortunately, but 80% (Network Extender, Network Place, FTP, Telnet, SSH, HTTP, HTTPS and VNC) is fully accessible using Safari. According to the developer, this means that users can connect to your office network (provided they have the right login credentials of course) from any computer, without having to install any software.
Whether it is a new MacBook or PC laptop they've just set up or a terminal in a cybercafé somewhere, they can simply get on with their work. Connections are made using SSL, ensuring data is encrypted as it passes through the Internet, and users have full VPN secure access to whatever's made available by the BiGuard S5 administrator.
Sounds promising so far, doesn't it? In practice it was almost as simple as the literature promised - almost, but not quite. Getting the BiGuard S5 up and running was a little less complex than we'd expected, but is still something we wouldn't expect a novice to manage. You'll need a static IP address for your Internet connection to do this sort of thing properly, although this can be provided by most ISPs. Equally importantly, a passing knowledge of networking is really something you should have as well.
Some of the on-screen interface needs to be refined; for example, some menus included JavaScript function names as well as the intended text - but things still functioned properly. The main manual is occasionally incorrect with regards to Mac-specific operations, but by and large it is accurate and comprehensive. There's also a separate slim Remote Portal Guide for Mac OS that explains Mac-specific steps. One of these is how to install the Network Extender browser plugin, needed for Mac users who want to use the full Network Extender service; this installation is something that's prompted when a Mac user first connects.
Normally, when someone connects and authenticates, the BiGuard S5 serves a list of the services (or applications) available to them. Clicking the Connect link for one of these launches that service, preceded by login requirements of course. You can set up groups with custom access permissions, for example, only FTP for some, and full network access for others. This groups configuration process can be a bit clunky, but it does allow a fair degree of flexibility.
In short, the BiGuard S5 isn't entirely without flaws, but does its job admirably well. With a little understanding and prior know-how you'll be able to allow secure access to your office network from anywhere on the Internet. Better still, this is done without opening security holes in your network, which is another increasingly big concern.
Author: Keith Martin
MacUser Online