The IPSec support also enables all IP-based communications to be encrypted end to end. In tests, we used NAI's Gauntlet Global VPN server and its Net Tools PKI for PGP and X.509 certificate management. The tools support Entrust, VeriSign and NAI formats. Management of NAI's suite is simple. After installing the first client and configuring it for destinations, options and shared keys, we preconfigured the rest of the clients by preparing an executable file that included the same settings.
Managers use existing software deployment methods for client deployment.
Simplicity is good, but NAI should have extended the suite's management capabilities. There is no network status utility to show at a glance which users have the client. Once in place, the NAI products require little effort to use. Both tunnel and transfer modes are provided, so we could create secure connections through a gateway or directly between two internal peer machines. The VPN client automatically applied strong encryption to sessions with secured hosts and allowed unencrypted communications with other machines.