Fixed Wireless Equipment

InterJak Appliance
Delivers Heightened WLAN Security

Check Point and Cisco Systems may dominate the VPN space, but in the small-business space a company called uRoam offers a different type of wireless security solution.

by ISP-Planet Staff [November 8, 2002]

From its base of operations in Sunnyvale, Calif., uRoam is set to release the latest version of its InterJak 310 Internet Service Appliance. The device offers a wide range of wireless security and connectivity options, as well as a complete suite of services including firewall and virtual private network (VPN) security, management and networking tools, and IT services.

Founded in 1998, uRoam, formerly known as Filanet, first debuted the InterJak lineup in November 2000. The InterJak 100 is a Linux-based appliance that delivers managed services such as VPN, firewall, content filtering, content caching, and remote backup. The InterJak 200 series, which was introduced in September 2001, provides integrated wired and wireless local area and wide area networking solutions.

This year, the release of uRoam's InterJak 310 reflects the demand for wireless security systems. Skip Glass, uRoam chief executive officer, said the upgraded appliance meets the needs of small business that are addressing security issues surrounding their 802.11b wireless networks.

"To address these exposures, uRoam offers an appliance with enterprise-grade management and wireless security features," Glass said. "Other vendors require a multiple box solution which is not cost effective to manage and support in small offices."

New wireless features in the InterJak 310 include:

• 802.11b wireless LAN interface: Provides full access point support for standard 802.11b clients. Security features include a closed network option and no repeat option.
• 802.11b wireless WAN interface: Offers last mile wireless wide area network (WAN) connectivity with complete routing and VPN security services.
• ADSL WAN interface: Compatible with all common digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) and supports complete routing services including point-to-point protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) support.

The InterJak 310 is a single platform for the delivery of business-class services to the small office. With its integrated wired/wireless security and networking services, the InterJak 310 is a good fit for managed service providers offering security solutions to small business, remote office, and branch office locations.

When it comes to connectivity, all InterJak 310 models include five 10/100 MDIX Ethernet ports that can be isolated into separately secured logical networks and two USB V2.0 ports. For wireless user authentication and privacy, the InterJak 310 supports a range of authentication mechanisms, include:

• Browser-based security: Users are redirected to a local or remote web page for authentication.
• 802.1x security: Users with 802.1x clients are authenticated locally or against external RADIUS servers. Dynamic Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption is supported with compatible clients.
• VPN security: Users with integrated Windows PPTP or L2TP clients are authenticated against internal or external directories. Highly secure VPN encryption is offloaded to a VPN HW accelerator in the InterJak appliance.

The InterJak appliance also includes a stateful firewall for protection against attacks from the Internet or from the wireless LAN. Policies establish which authentication and security technologies (e.g. 802.1x users only) are allowed from wireless networks.

InterJak appliances with an integrated 802.11b LAN interface include tools for site surveys, for detecting rogue access points, and for detecting illegal or suspicious access on the wireless LAN. Wireless intrusion alerts can be forwarded to a monitoring station.

The InterJak 310 offers secure local and remote management for single devices or, using the SPP (Service Provisioning Portal) centralized policy-based server software for automated provisioning and management of large network deployments.

Pricing and availability
The InterJak 310 and Service Keys are immediately available through uRoam's distribution network of authorized resellers.

Pricing varies with the type of interface required. The InterJak 300 SMB without integrated WAN technologies is $695. The base price for the InterJak 310 SMB is $795 and comes with integrated ADSL.

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