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Barracuda Networks SSL VPN 480

The Barracuda SSL VPN 480 offers full-featured, easy-to-use remote access to desktops and resources. This SSL VPN allows users to access network resources and remote desktops remotely just as if they were sitting at their computer in the office. This product also features a mostly clientless architecture with some features just using a lightweight, dissolvable Java-based client.

We found this product to be easy to deploy and manage. Management is all done through an intuitive web GUI with the exception of the initial configuration, which is done through a direct terminal connection to the appliance. We had this tool up and running in under five minutes and we had a base configuration within 10. On the user side, we found this product to be easy to use as well. When a user logs in to the web-based portal with their username and password, they are presented with a clean and organized tab-top interface that has all their resources categorized by type. Users also can place their most-used shortcuts on a favorites page, which is the first page displayed after login.

From an integration standpoint, this solution features many plug-and-play functions. Shortcuts can be easily set up for network shares, Microsoft Remote Desktop connections, VNC connections, intranet web applications and Citrix client/server applications. Access to applications can be grouped by user or groups, and users and groups can be defined directly from Active Directory or LDAP.

Documentation included a short quick-start guide, as well as a full PDF administrator guide. The quick-start guide provided short, clear steps on how to get the tool connected and up and running with a basic configuration. The administrator guide takes over from there and provides in-depth instructions for configuring the features. We found the documentation to be well-organized and the step-by-step instructions were clear and easy to follow.

Barracuda offers eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week phone support, as well as 24-hour email support to all customers at no cost. Customers also can purchase additional support options based on the level of model they purchase. Also available to customers is web-based support in the form of a knowledge base and user forum.

At a price just shy of $4,000 for the model we tested, we find this product to be an excellent value for the money for almost any size organization. This product has a lot of great features that are easy to use Ð for administrators and users alike.
Product title
Barracuda Networks SSL VPN 480
Product info
Name: Barracuda Networks SSL VPN 480 Description: Price: $3,999
Strength
Easy to deploy and manage with a lot of clientless remote access functionality.
Weakness
None that we found.
Verdict
For its feature-rich capabilities and ease of use, we rate Barracuda SSL VPN 480 our Best Buy.

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