SAN JOSE, Calif. - September 22, 1997 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today expanded its security serverportfolio with the announcement of the CiscoSecure Global Roaming Server (GRS). Serviceproviders can now offer secure carrier-class virtual networking to enterprise customers,resulting in significant savings in infrastructure and long distance communications costs.
In addition, Cisco announced immediate availability of CiscoSecure ACS 2.0 for Windows NT.Today's announcements further strengthen Cisco's ongoing enterprise-wide security initiative.
The CiscoSecure GRS enables regional service providers to create and manage global roamingnetworks. Instead of making a long distance call to a central site, mobile users dial intolocal points of presence (POPs) to access the Internet or corporate network, eliminating costlylong distance charges. Utilizing the GRS architecture, regional service providers can maintainexisting dial access infrastructures to create new global roaming networks, increasing thenumber of Internet access points for their associated ISPs. They in turn benefit from anincreased number of Internet access points without incurring the costs associated withpurchasing and installing additional equipment. Because the CiscoSecure GRS can interoperatewith any TACACS+ or RADIUS authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server, GRSservice providers and ISP subscribers can maintain their existing AAA infrastructure anddatabases.
"With the CiscoSecure GRS, regional service providers can immediately deploy and market newsecure services to ISPs, dramatically reducing the overhead costs associated with deliveringsecure access to Internet and intranet users," said Marc Nicholas, a regional service providerconsultant with Hippocampus OSD, Inc. "Regional service providers and ISPs gain access to newcustomers, realize cost savings and enjoy guaranteed compatibility of security services acrossglobal networks."
Windows NT Access Control
CiscoSecure ACS 2.0 for Windows NT brings many of the same sophisticated access controlfeatures currently found in CiscoSecure ACS 2.1 for UNIX to the Window NT platform. Among the new features of the Windows NT offering, system administrators can choose to leverage existingWindows NT user databases or build new CiscoSecure databases. Other new features includeincreased support for TACACS+ including virtual private dial network (VPDN) services, supportfor RADIUS attributes, both IETF and vendor specific, and support for token card clients. TheWindows NT version is also configured and managed with a multiuser Web-based graphical userinterface (GUI). Current users of CiscoSecure EasyACS 1.0, the entry-level Windows NT securityserver, can easily upgrade to CiscoSecure ACS 2.0 for Windows NT while maintaining existinguser profiles and databases.
"With a full range of CiscoSecure solutions to choose from, enterprise and service providercustomers can now leverage one another in controlling who accesses central site networks andhow much it will cost," said David Gudmundson, director of cross platforms in Cisco's ServiceProvider Line of Business. "This class of solution is of particular importance with theincreased global connectivity that will result from the introduction of high-performanceproducts like the Cisco AS5300 universal access server."
Cisco Systems
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