Novell adds to security suite

Novell has debuted two new additions to its BorderManager family of Internet security management products based on its directory services technology.

Currently in beta testing, BorderManager Firewall Services 3 provides directory-based and security policy management, which allows users to protect confidential business data and manage user access to Internet and intranet resources.

BorderManager Virtual Private Network Services (VPN) secures connections between remote offices, mobile users, customers, and suppliers which access information over the Internet, the company said. Both products are due to ship before the end of the year.

The two products will ship as stand-alone products or as integrated components of BorderManager Enterprise Edition 3, the company's Internet security management suite for Novell Directory Services networks. The security suite is also currently in beta testing.

A directory essentially provides a central database for a host of information on users, systems, software, and network devices.

BorderManager Firewall Services 3 components include HTTP, FTP, Gopher, mail news, RealNetworks Real Audio and Video, and other application proxies. The HTTP application proxy supports Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) tunneling and user certificates, providing an encrypted connection between client and server.

BorderManager Firewall Services also includes two circuit gateways that enable the component to be configured as a part of a firewall that works in conjunction with firewalls from other vendors. The circuit gateways--SOCKS and Novell IP Gateway--also allow the BorderManager Firewall server to support Windows NT, UNIX, and NetWare SOCKS clients.

BorderManager VPN supports a variety of standard tunneling, encryption, and key exchange mechanisms, including IP SEC, SKIP, RC2, and others. The product permits dial-up and cable modem users, running IP or IPX protocol, to access VPN resources through a secure connection over the Web.

"As companies continue to implement Web servers and intranets, the need for internal security becomes more necessary to protect confidential data," John Slitz, senior vice president of marketing at Novell, said in a statement. "With BorderManager Firewall and BorderManager VPN Services, Novell is leveraging our traditional strengths by integrating security management in NDS..."

The Orem, Utah-based software firm said it will announce pricing of the two security products when they ship.