Mobile VPN Overview
The growing use of wifi-enabled smart phones, PDAs and laptops enables mobiles individuals to connect to corporate networks when on the move or out of office , making connections wherever necessary using mobile virtual private networks (Mobile VPN)in an efficient and comfortable fashion. Organizations can also cut back on communications costs in the fixed phone and monthly operating costs for corporate PBX or GSM. VPN Mobile is offering flexibility in that Mobile VPN can operate on private and public network infrastructures, including dial-up connections to home broadband, Ethernet LAN, WLAN, WWAN, satellite data networks, and even non-IP radio networks.

Mobile VPNs are utilised in environments where employees need to keep application sessions open at all times, as they connect through various wireless networks, ran into gaps in coverage, or suspend-and-resume their devices to conserve battery life. A conventional VPN can’t pull through such issues since when the VPN connection is interrupted, it may cause applications to fail, or even the device to crash. Mobile VPNs are commonly used in energy companies, field service management, utility companies and other industries. Workers who connect via WWAN uses a method of secure remote access: SSL-protected Web portal, email connections encrypted using TLS and / or virtual private network (VPN). Users don’t need to continually restart and reauthenticate the connection or any intranet applications running on it. This helps boost their efficiency and productivity while protecting the security of corporate mobile traffic.
Mobile VPN enables mobile workers to use various wireless and wired connections to securely access their corporate intranet. It is applicable for:
- Network-based secure mobility: All IP devices connected to the mobilized network have transparent, secure mobility.
- Host-based secure mobility: A single device, such as a laptop or a tablet PC, is secured and mobile.
Like traditional VPNs, Mobile VPNs use authenticated and encrypted tunnel to protect corporate data transmitted over untrusted networks.When devices roam between one location to another they are assigned virtual IP address that remains constant with the change of physical IP address.
Among companies providing mobile VPN client are Cisco, Agito Mobile VPN, AppGate, BIRDSTEP, Columbitech, DiVitas, IBM, Identiprise, Microsoft, Mobile Aware etc. Those different mobile VPN clients are varied wildy in their specifications and use. Some only run on a single operating system (for example, Windows notebook or handheld Windows Mobile), while others support different mobile operating systems. Some focus on the connection management policy-based, others on the persistence of applications and some on both. Some are addressed to enable the Unified Communications (UC), while others are wireless data-centric.
Sources : Wikipedia, Cisco
July 13, 2010
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Posted by mike













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