Re: Campus VPN Services

[Matthew Keller <kellermg () POTSDAM EDU>]

We have rolled out a low-cost (how cheap can you get a 1U rackmount dual-processor Intel server for?) PPTP-based VPN 
solution dubbed "MiddleNet". "MiddleNet" runs on Linux, uses Open Source software and in-house developed middle-ware to 
achieve around 600 simultaneous PPTP connections per VPN server. Currently, the VPN server is a 1U rackmount w/ 2 Intel 
Xeon Processor running at 1.4Ghz. The system is trivially clustered for either redundancy, scalability, or both. In 
field tests, available bandwidth ran out long before the processors, memory, and other I/O systems were too heavily 
taxed.

The MiddleNet system is used by Windows (all versions) MacOSX (10.2 or higher) and Linux clients to connect to our LAN 
via wireless, or over the Internet.

Below is the URL for the user documentation, an "about" link you'll probably want to read if interested, and a 
not-as-updated-as-I'd-like map of our campus and available wireless access points... Maybe by the time you read this 
I'll have been shamed into updating it. Bad Matt. I'll also have a HOW-TO doc and detailed analysis of this system on 
my website (URL in my signature) sometime after the madness of the beginning of the semester dies down. It's all 
written, just not "done" yet. I apologize for not answering all of your questions directly- send me an e-mail if you 
want to be notified when my documentation and analysis is up and it will.

http://vpn.potsdam.edu/

Angel L Cruz said:
> Colleagues:
>
> We are looking at VPN deployment strategies.
<...snip...>


--
Matthew Keller
Senior Enterprise Systems Analyst
Computing & Technology Services
State University of New York @ Potsdam
Potsdam, NY USA
http://mattwork.potsdam.edu/

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