3002 Hardware Client

Hardware Client

The last two chapters focused on the Cisco VPN Client and Microsoft's L2TP/IPsec client. Both of these clients are software clients, where VPN software is installed on a PC. Software clients allow a single user to secure a session to a remote VPN gateway. But software clients don't scale well, especially in environments where more than one person at a location needs to establish a secure session to a remote destination. In this case, it would be better to use a centralized device, like a remote access hardware appliance or a site-to-site gateway device.

This chapter will focus on using one of the Cisco hardware clients: the VPN 3002 hardware client. I'll discuss the 3002's features and deployment options, your initial access to the 3002, connection and authentication options, and administrative tasks. Chapters 18, "Router Remote Access Connections," and 22, "PIX and ASA Remote Access Connections," will discuss two other Cisco hardware clients: low-end routers and PIXs.