NetMAX Newsletter - July 2003

1. [New!] NetMAX E-Commerce Powerpack
2. [Technical] NetMAX VPN Tips
3. [Support] Updated FAQs
4. [Products] New Magnia Bundles
5. [General] Let's Hear From You

1. NetMAX E-Commerce Powerpack
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If you've ever wanted to run your own online store, but didn't want to buy expensive store licenses, now NetMAX has the answer! NetMAX E-Commerce Powerpack brings the power of E-Commerce to your NetMAX Professional Server by simplifying the installation and configuration of online stores. You can have an online store up and running in a minimal amount of time, backed by documentation outlining how to accomplish the most common tasks, and by the expertise and real-world experience of the NetMAX team!

The NetMAX E-Commerce Powerpack is available as a bundle with NetMAX Professional Suite, or as an add-on to existing NetMAX Professional Suite installations. NetMAX E-Commerce Powerpack is priced at $309 for the add-on package (for NetMAX Professional Suite 4.03), or $569 for a complete bundle. Both are available in the NetMAX Store:

http://www.netmax.com/order/BuyStuff.cgi

2. NetMAX VPN Tips
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This month, the NetMAX team would like to define and explain some of the most common problems and misunderstandings regarding the deployment of NetMAX VPN Server Suite.

Below are some general rules about VPN that should help administrators when planning, deploying, and troubleshooting VPN configurations. In these explanations, the term "VPN gateway" refers to the machine on either end of a VPN connection that is accepting and processing VPN connection requests.

1. Both VPN gateways must have a public or routable IP address. This means that the network interface connected to the Internet must have at least one IP address that does not fall in one of the following ranges:

192.168.x.x - where each x is any number from 0 to 255

10.x.x.x - where each x is any number from 0 to 255

172.16.x.y - where x is any number from 0 to 31 and y is any number from 0 to 255

The reason for this limitation is that these networks are reserved for private (e.g. non-Internet) traffic. If traffic from such a network is received by a host on the Internet, the receiving host would not know how to send the traffic back to the originating host.

2. Each VPN gateway must be able to communicate with the other gateway without the traffic being masqueraded (NATed). In other words, both VPN gateways should either be directly on the Internet (e.g. without a firewall between the VPN gateway and the Internet) or any hosts between the VPN gateway and the Internet be configured to pass the traffic without masquerading it. The reason for this limitation is this: when the traffic passes from the VPN gateway through the firewall/NAT box, it is made to look as if it is coming from the firewall/NAT box itself. When the second VPN gateway receives this traffic, it will try to create a connection with the firewall/NAT box instead of with the originating VPN gateway.

3. If a RoadWarrior connection is being created between a NetMAX VPN gateway (and optionally a network behind it) and a non-NetMAX VPN gateway or client (e.g. Windows or Macintosh client ) then the non-NetMAX participant must have a compatible VPN client installed and configured before a VPN connection can be established. The native IPSEC client built into Windows 2000 and Windows XP is limited in that it can only be configured for connections between endpoints that have static IP addresses.

4. NetMAX VPN is designed to tunnel TCP/IP and UDP traffic. Other protocols may not pass through VPN tunnels, or may not behave as expected.

5. NetMAX VPN is designed to encrypt traffic over the Internet. It is not designed to encrypt traffic over a LAN or private network, nor will this work reliably. The reason for this limitation is that when two hosts are on the same logical network, the hosts can speak to each other directly, without the necessity for VPN. In order to establish a VPN connection, both VPN gateways must be on different logical networks, and preferably on different physical networks as well.

For more information on NetMAX VPN, please refer to the NetMAX VPN Server Suite section of the NetMAX Knowledge Base:

http://www.netmax.com/fom/cache/353.html

3. Updated FAQs
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The NetMAX Knowledge Base is a searchable, indexed database of the most frequently asked questions that we receive. Its been in use for many years now, but recently we have undertaken an extensive review and update of the information there. Many articles and answers have been clarified, revised, and updated. Some new topics have been added as well. If you have any comments about the current information there, or would like to suggest topics to be added to the Knowledge Base, please send an e-mail to info@netmax.com.

The Knowledge Base can be accessed at:

http://www.netmax.com/fom/fom.cgi

4. New Magnia Bundles
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Toshiba has reduced the cost of their Magnia SG20 Internet Appliances, and that's great news for fans of NetMAX! If you missed out on our previous promotional prices because supplies were limited, now you have another chance to get one at a great price too. We're passing on the savings to our customers, and lowering Magnia prices for all versions of the NetMAX Magnia SG20 Series!

The new Magnia bundles come with one 20GB or 40GB hard drive, with support for a second drive. You can get the new Magnia Internet Appliance bundles with pre-installed NetMAX versions of Professional Suite, VPN Server Suite, or both starting at $599 in the NetMAX Store:

http://www.netmax.com/order/BuyStuff.cgi

5. Let's Hear From You!
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We would very much like to hear from you. Tell us how you use NetMAX
and Linux in your business... or what you would like to see in NetMAX
5... or maybe even what you'd like us to add to the Personal Tutor!
You can contribute your input to the NetMAX Forum:

http://www.netmax.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi

or to our general NetMAX contact form:

http://www.netmax.com/partners/contacts.html

Let us know about your likes, dislikes, and general comments. We are especially interested in the type of additions to NetMAX Server you would like to see as we continue to develop the NetMAX line.

Thank you!