Transcript Presentation (Powerpoint) - Traversix Virtual Connectivity Network

Using Outbound IP Connections
for Remote Access
Standards
Certification
Education & Training
Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits
EXPO 2005
Chicago, IL
Presenter
• Jim Kokal is President/CEO and Co-Founder of Wavetrix, a leading
product development company. He has over 18 years experience in
developing, marketing, and selling communication and networking systems
At Wavetrix, he has led the creation of Traversix Virtual Connectivity
Network product to address the needs of customers in remote access
market.. Prior to Wavetrix, he was the Director of Marketing at Broadband
Gateways and at Blue Wave Systems (now Motorola) he successfully
created and launched the Softband™ software radio product line. He holds
an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a
MSEE/BSEE from the University of Illinois.
Virtual Connectivity Network
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Agenda
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Objective
Remote Access Applications
Inbound Connection Oriented Architecture
Outbound Connection Oriented Architecture
Outbound Connection Systems
Summary/Questions
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Goals
• Objective:
– Enable remote access regardless of location
• Motivation
– Remote access offers enormous economic and service
delivery benefits – better, faster, cheaper
• Issues
– Firewall(s)/Router(s) reconfiguration is very challenging
when remote access is needed via the Internet
– Especially true for third party deployments
– Centralized administration of user access and privileges
– Security is of paramount importance
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Networking Trends
• Network complexity is growing
– Security requirements are increasing
– System integration is increasing within an organization, to
customers, and to suppliers
• Regulatory Issues
– HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc., add additional requirements
• LAN
– Old Paradigm: Inherently trusted user
– New Paradigm: Inherently untrusted user
– Treat an internal and external user identically
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Remote Access Applications
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Status and Maintenance Checks
Diagnostics
Configuration and Administration
Software Upgrade
Log File Retrieval
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Remote Access Methodologies
• LAN Based
– Usually constrained to one physical site, no outside access
• Inbound Connection via the Internet
– Definition: Client originates a connection to the serial
server
– Requires Firewall(s)/Router(s) reconfiguration
– Port Forwarding is the most common implementation
• Outbound Connection via the Internet
– Definition: Serial server originates connection to a known
point
– Gateway provides connection point
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Inbound Connection Systems
• Client (i.e. PC) originates connection to the serial
server
– Telnet or Virtual Serial Port
• Serial Server
– Static IP address
– Authenticates user (username/password)
• Two Configurations
– LAN vs. Internet
– Internet connection requires advance provisioning
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LAN Based Access
PC with
Virtual Serial Port
/Telnet
Internet
Firewall
LAN
Serial
Server
Serial-Enabled
Device
• Client (i.e. PC) originates connection to the serial server
– Telnet or Virtual Serial Port
• Serial Server
– Static IP address
− Authenticates user (username/password)
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LAN Based Issues
• Security
– Usually not encrypted
– Encryption often based on pre-shared key
– Username/Password
– Located in the serial server
• IP administration
– Static IP address for the serial server
– Within the same subnet, no additional configuration
required
– Outside the subnet requires routers/firewalls be
reconfigured to establish a connection between the PC
and the serial server
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Inbound Connection Architecture
Internet
Firewall
Firewall
PC with
VSP/Telnet
LAN
LAN
Serial
Server
Serial-Enabled
Device
• User connects remotely using the Internet to serial
server inside the firewall of an organization
– Requires advance provisioning
– Port Forwarding is the most common technology
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Port Forwarding Illustration
Firewall/
Router
Web Page
Request
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192.168.0.15
0
WAN
Web Server
Remote Connection
Request
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192.168.0.7
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5
Serial
Server
Port Forwarding Table
WAN TCP Port
LAN IP Address:Port
80
192.168.0.15:80
1255
192.168.0.7:1255
Serial-Enabled
Device
LAN
• Web servers are the most common example
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Installation Issues
• Provisioning IP address routing is resource intensive
– They must be setup and tested
– Maintained through upgrades/replacements
– At a third party, time and politics drive the process
• Username/password is in serial server
• Must know IP address (and port number) of serial
server
– Multiple serial servers within a single facility require each
to have their own port number
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Administrative Issues
• Serial servers are individually managed
– To reduce complexity, a single username/password is often
used for all users
• Serial server configuration information (IP address,
port number) must be disseminated
– Users must keep track of this information
– Updates must sent whenever the information changes
• Complexity grows dramatically as the size of
deployment grows
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Outbound Connection Motivation
• Outbound connections are generally permitted
– Examples: Requesting a web page, retrieving email
• Requires no changes to the firewall or router
– Mimics existing network processes
– Traverses the firewall like other processes
• Faster, simpler deployment
• Reduces technician skill level requirements
– Requires minimal “Networking” training
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Architectural Changes
• Serial server needs a connection point
– Client isn’t always there and is usually not visible
from the Internet
• Solution: Add a connectivity gateway
– Moves the client connection from locally at the
serial server, to the gateway on the Internet
– Provides a central point for access control and
privilege administration
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Outbound Connection Architecture
Connectivity
Gateway
Internet
Firewall
Firewall
PC with
VSP/Telnet
LAN
LAN
Serial
Server
Serial-Enabled
Device
• The gateway provides a central point for all connections
– Serial server connects to the Gateway
– Client Software connects to the Gateway
– Gateway establishes a connection between them when instructed
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Outbound Connection Elements
• Serial Server
– Originates and maintains a constant connection to the
connectivity gateway
– Serial server can have a DHCP or Static IP address
• Connectivity Gateway
– Specific purpose appliance that resides on the Internet
• Client
– Creates a connection with connectivity gateway
– Connectivity gateway authenticates and then connects the
client to the requested serial server
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Enhanced Security
• Bi-lateral Authentication
– User
– Individual username/password
– Device
– Can use very strong machine-to-machine techniques
• Data Transfer
– Encryption
– Pre-shared or dynamic key exchange
• Administration
– Privileges/Access controlled individually
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Centralized Administration
• Single point to control access to all serial
servers
• User privileges are individually defined and
controlled
• Enables a serial server to be shared across
organizational boundaries
• Inherently disseminates any changes to a serial
servers configuration information
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Gateway Considerations
• High reliability/availability
– Mission criticality
• Subscription or Hosted
– Deployment size
• Internal Operated vs. Host Facility
– Facility capability
– Power, Internet feed redundancy
– Human resource requirements
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Summary
• Outbound connections simplify remote access
especially at third party facilities
– Firewall traversal eliminates the need for
reconfiguration
– Central administration improves security and
control
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Thank You
Questions?
Virtual Connectivity Network
www,traversix.com
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