Today's IPsec clients require fewer parameters. Through smart defaults, canned policies, and automated policy updating, client installation has become easier and less error-prone. Let's consider a few examples. Centralized control, simple authentication, and topology assumptions greatly simplify client configuration, but at the cost of flexibility. IPsec gateways like the Cisco VPN 3060 and Symantec PowerVPN Server automatically pushes administrator-defined policies to IPsec clients each time they connect.
Users simply enter gateway hostname and credentials.
Check Point's VPN-1 offers automatic version checking to assist in managing client software distribution. These procedural decisions still fall to the VPN administrator. In any large deployment, efficient management and monitoring tools are essential. But sheer volume and frequency of change make remote access administration a tougher nut to crack. ISPs that offer managed remote access services set the bar even higher.