Windows 2000 to prompt spread of VPN technology

Altiga Networks last week unveiled software upgrades to its VPN Concentrators to simplify deployment of remote connectivity through support of the Windows 2000 virtual private network (VPN) client.

Altiga Networks last week unveiled software upgrades to its VPN Concentrators to simplify deployment of remote connectivity through support of the Windows 2000 virtual private network (VPN) client.

The adoption of Windows 2000 is expected to dramatically accelerate the deployment of VPNs, in the same way that the built-in RAS client in Windows 95 did for traditional remote access.

The upgrade to Altiga's C15, C30 and C60 VPN Concentrators also adds support to Baltimore Technologies' digital certification and split tunnelling.

"Our customers have asked for interoperable standards and an integrated Windows client to simplify deployment of virtual private networks," said Ron Cully, Microsoft's lead product manager of Windows Networking.

"Altiga's early implementation allows customers to make provision for the Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol/IP (L2TP) Security client support available for the forthcoming release of Windows 2000 Professional," he added.

However, Brian Gladman, technical advisor to the Foundation for Information Policy Research, warned that previous Microsoft implementations of L2TP have proved to be flawed.

"Microsoft has a history of delivering quite big holes. When delivering VPNs a good crypto solution is vital, and independent suppliers are likely to prove better at this than Microsoft," he said.

Microsoft itself is unlikely to deliver interoperability between different operating systems, added Gladman.