This section briefly describes the Novell BorderManager 3.7 firewall solutions and covers several main points you must consider when establishing and controlling your network borders. This section contains the following subsections:
The Novell BorderManager 3.7 software provides a secure connection from a corporate intranet to the Internet. Novell BorderManager 3.7 runs on a NetWare® 5.1 SP 4 or NetWare 6 SP 1 operating system and uses the NetWare server utilities or the NetWare AdministratorTM utility for server configuration. Server configurations are stored in the NDSTM or the Novell eDirectoryTM database. NDS or eDirectory enables you to control user and user group access to the World Wide Web.
When you connect your private network to the public Internet, security at the border and network performance become key issues, as is protecting data on your intranet.
Novell BorderManager 3.7 enables you to manage and protect the border where networks meet. Although the border most commonly referred to is that between the corporate intranet and the Internet, the borders between segments of a company intranet also must be managed and protected. Because Novell BorderManager 3.7 is specifically designed to address and solve the most critical issues involved with managing a network border, the administrator's job becomes infinitely easier by deploying this product throughout the network.
The task of managing a network border is not a simple one, but it can be more easily understood when broken down into the solution categories provided by Novell BorderManager 3.7 and briefly described in the next section.
Novell BorderManager 3.7 offers comprehensive, effective firewall solutions that include the following technologies:
You must consider the following when establishing and maintaining control over your network borders:
You must also consider the setup and ongoing maintenance costs of your Internet access points when you establish and maintain control over your network borders. Novell BorderManager 3.7 addresses all these network management and protection considerations.
Security is one of the major considerations when connecting a corporate intranet to the Internet. Protecting information and systems from unauthorized access can be just as important when considering a network segment located within the company intranet. Keep in mind that some of the most knowledgeable software experts might also be your employees. More than 80 percent of data is stolen internally. Creating a security mechanism to guard your network border is commonly referred to as creating a firewall.
Novell BorderManager 3.7 provides the following security features that you can use to create a network firewall:
For more information on security, firewalls, and the Novell BorderManager 3.7 security features, refer to Implementing Network Border Security.
With the emergence of the concept of Internet time, companies understand the urgency of speeding up access to and from the Internet. Many companies rely on the Internet to exchange products and information with colleagues and customers.
The demand to speed up access to information from within a company is just as strong. Many companies have decided to move all corporate information, including documents, forms, and procedures, to an intranet Web site. If all company information is located on a Web site, and employees are working on company time, it is essential that employees be able to access and gather this data quickly.
Novell BorderManager 3.7 provides the following performance features:
For more information on these Novell BorderManager 3.7 performance features, refer to Improving Network Performance.
Consistently managing network borders can be difficult when each border must be managed separately. This task is further complicated if each border uses different routing hardware and software. Novell BorderManager 3.7 eases this problem by enabling the administrator to manage Novell BorderManager 3.7 servers from a centralized location using NetWare tools to integrate the Novell Directory Services with eDirectory.
For more information on managing Novell BorderManager 3.7, refer to Managing Novell BorderManager Services.
With the increasing need to access and send information online, it is essential to have a cost-effective and secure method for transmitting the information. In the past, many companies chose to build private networks using leased dial lines, but this approach can be expensive. Today, it might make more sense for a company to use the Internet to send and receive secure online information. The Novell BorderManager 3.7 Virtual Private Network (VPN) enables you to use the Internet to send and receive information securely using an encrypted data stream between hosts and clients.
For more information on the Novell BorderManager 3.7 VPN, refer to Virtual Private Networks.