Solution Brief:
Secure Internet Service Delivery
Easily and Inexpensively Enable Managed Services over any Network
You want to deliver high-value managed services, such as patch management and round-the-clock monitoring. However, remote access and SNMP alarm delivery problems abound. Learn how to deliver a wide range of managed services painlessly and inexpensively to all of your customers.
The Challenge
Remote connectivity into enterprise networks is an expensive, often overlooked, time-consuming issue for Service Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Enterprise-provided solutions (for example, IPSec) severely limit what Service Providers can accomplish, since most traditional remote access technologies were not designed for device administration. To meet strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Service Providers often have no choice but to roll a truck. Considering the amount many Service Providers invest in Network Operations Center (NOC) tools to remotely diagnose and correct problems, the prospect of sending a potentially inexperienced field technician to an angry customer is unpleasant. Still other Service Providers lose potential revenue because they either cannot meet enterprise security requirements or find themselves limited to delivering break/fix services because of the complexities required to support intelligent service delivery.
The Solution
The ION solution offers inexpensive, drop-in, service provider-friendly remote access to managed equipment on customer sites. Furthermore, the solution is designed to support a wide range of network and diagnostic tools, so that service providers can easily leverage backend systems and/or easily roll out new services.
How it Works
The solution involves two elements, PRIISMS (management software installed in the NOC) and an ION appliance deployed at the customer site.
To install, simply plug the ION appliance into the managed equipment, and point it to PRIISMS (via a designated IP address). Then, the ION appliance pins up a bi-directional SSL VPN tunnel, via port 443. No changes to the customer’s firewall are required. It is important to note that the tunnel is always on. For example, the connection is not effected, even if customers make firewall changes or similar. For that reason, the ION solution is ideal for round-the-clock monitoring and management.
Reliable Delivery of Site Information: PRIISMS acts as a centralized gateway and access portal to all your managed systems. The ION appliance collects relevant alarms and traps and sends them through PRIISMS to the associated NOC tools. The always-on, bi-directional SSL VPN tunnel ensures consistent and reliable delivery of data from customer sites. Easy &
Customized Access: A web-based interface allows Service Provider technicians to easily and securely access systems at customer locations. Granular permission setting lets Service Providers select which technicians have access to which customer systems. Service Providers may even select the specific functions technicians are permitted to perform.
Reliable, Redundant Access: For critical sites, where alternative connectivity is required, ION also offers appliances with secure dial-up. In these instances, technicians may connect to the managed equipment via PRIISMS or dial directly into the ION appliance.
Secure Always: ION products are certified by the US Department of Defense (DoD) JITC and used by some of the world’s largest financial institutions to secure remote administrative access. Features such as embedded two-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption and audit trail are designed to meet enterprise security policies.
Key Solution Differentiators
Unlike traditional VPN solutions, the ION Internet Service Delivery solution is designed specifically to support Service Provider access. The appliances fit seamlessly into customer environments without changing network settings or security policies, saving service providers valuable time and resources and speeding the time to deployment. The solution is designed to suit customers of all sizes (from SMB to large enterprise) and scales nicely to meet the needs of both large and growing service providers.
Overall, the ION solution allows service providers the flexibility to deliver a wide array of revenue-generating services to both low-cost endpoints as well as complex, IP enabled devices.
Featured Products
The solution features three different products. The appliances can be used interchangeably, depending up on the customer site requirements.
PRIISMS (Learn More >)
- Management Software
- Centralized ION device management
- Hosted at Network Operations Center
- Secure, centralized, web-based access to customer systems
SA500 Service Access Point (Learn More >)
- Appliance (at Customer Site)
- IP Access (Internet)
- Supports Up to 2 Devices
- Ideal for access to SMB customer site or branch location.
SA5600 Secure Appliance (Learn More >)
- Appliance (at Customer Site)
- IP Access (Internet) & Dial-Up Access (Wireless)
- Supports 8 Devices (Serial) and 24 Devices (IP)
- Ideal for larger sites, those that require redundant connectivity or customers with stringent security policies
