SBIR-STTR Award

Commercially available VPN solutions provide secure links between fixed sites. Some also support remote users, but those typically lack adequate security features and are difficult to configure and use. This effort provides DARPA remote users with a secure, easy to use and configure, high bandwidth solution for connection to their office. The solution allows remote users to establish VPN tunnels directly or over the Internet via a local ISP connection using dial-up, cable modems, or DSL. The VPNs will be fully IKE/IPSec compliant and provide strong remote user authentication, data privacy, authenticity and integrity. The primary Gateway and VPN management station will be Secure Computing's Sidewinder, a highly secure application level firewall that is the largest selling firewall in the government market. Remote user clients will incorporate best of breed commercially available VPN components and will be offered on Windows 95/98/2000 and NT 4.0 platforms.

This project focuses on incorporating features to enable VPN operation in the presence of Network Address Translation (NAT) devices, and improved management of remote access, Intranet and Extranet VPNs. In addition, capabilities to accelerate VPN traffic at both VPN clients and VPN gateways will be developed. To support this, the project will define an approach to monitoring the performance of VPNs from different points of view.

Keywords:
Ipsec Acceleration, Vpn Nabagenebt, Network Address Translation, Vpn Performance