Frequently Asked Questions

What is SSL VPN?
SSL VPN provides simple, clientless remote access to network resources. With SSL VPN, your customers can create a secure extranet, enabling their employees and business partners to access their private network from any location through a web browser. The emerging trend in Secure Remote Access VPNs is to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL has been traditionally and widely deployed for securing web based applications in the form of HTTPS. It's a way that creates a secure private connection between the main office and external users. So you can communicate with the main office safely.

What is the different between SSL VPN and IPSec VPN?
IPSec VPN is a technology created out of an IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standard. It is terrific technology but has some problems. These problems are:
1. Typically, each client must have an installed client;
2. Typically, they will not work when inside another corporate network;
Because of the above issues IPSec VPN cannot be used for a large number of users.
Unlike IPSec VPNs, browser-based SSL VPN products, also referred to as SSL remote access and 'instant virtual extranets,' do not require companies to install VPN client software on remote devices. By authenticating to the company's network, users can make a secure connection from any notebook or desktop PC with a browser. This ability is unique because SSL firewalls are generally kept open, eliminating the need to reconfigure them to provide access.

How secure is Insistsoft SSL VPN Server?
Insistsoft SSL VPN Server uses SSL protocol to secure the communication between clients and itself, other person can not get the contents of the data, even if they get the network packets. All file transmission and the information you send to the company private network are under protection.

How do users access the server? What is the exact procedure?
Network communication procedure:
1. Client user(remote user) establish TCP connection with Insistsoft SSL VPN Server;
2. Client user establish SSL connection over TCP connection with Insistsoft SSL VPN Server.
They will exchange communication encryption keys on this step;
3. Client user verify certificate from Insistsoft SSL VPN server; If you configured
Insistsoft SSL VPN Server verify client user, it will verify certificate from client user;
4. After verifying, Insistsoft SSL VPN server will try to connect to Intranet(LAN) server;
5. Client user will use communication key to encrypt data, send to Insistsoft SSL VPN
server;
6. Insistsoft SSL VPN server received data from client user, decrypt it, then forward to
Intranet(LAN) server;
7. If Insistsoft SSL VPN Server received data from LAN server, it will encrypt it, then
send to client user;
8. Client user received data from Insistsoft SSL VPN Server, decrypt it, get real data
from LAN server;

Client user's software need to support SSL protocol. For web application, most of browsers (Like IE, FireFox, Opera) support SSL. For other applications(Like your own TCP application) which doesn't support SSL, right now we are making Insistsoft SSL Converter Server to convert regual TCP connection to SSL connection. Once we made, we'll update our website ASAP.

Is that Insistsoft SSL VPN Server can work behind firewall?
If your firwall supports NAT(Network Address Translation), this can be done. You need to NAT a WAN port to your SSL VPN server's LAN IP and specified service port
For more detailed examples, please refer to Insistsoft SSL VPN Server's help file. You can click "Help" button on our "Control Panel" main screen. On section "Network Config Examples", you can see three kind of usage."Example 2" is the condition behind firewall.

More FAQs will be updated soon...