Nokia Corp. has introduced the smallest of its firewall/VPN appliances with management features designed for enterprise branch offices.
IP71 is based on Check Point Small Office software, a slimmed-down version of Check Point's VPN-1/Firewall-1 specifically made for low-cost, small office appliances with a limited number of users. The device has no hard drive, just 96M bytes of RAM.
The box has a 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet port to connect it to a separate WAN device and includes a four-port Ethernet switch for connecting LAN devices. Because small offices likely don't have their own IT staff, the device comes with configuration software to make it possible for other staff to configure it.
Policies for the firewall and VPN can be pushed to the devices from a central location using Check Point's Policy Manager software. The device also supports Nokia's Horizon Manager software, which can take inventories of software on remote gear, check versions of software and push updates or new versions of software to remote equipment.
IP71 supports up to 8M bit/sec of throughput for firewall functions and 2M bit/sec for encryption, which the company says is fast enough to protect sites that use DSL or cable modems to connect to the Internet.
Intrusion.com also makes an appliance based on VPN-1/Firewall-1 Small Office that has three Ethernet ports to connect to external devices, but lacks an integrated Ethernet switch.