IPSec VPN Design

Product Description

The definitive design and deployment guide for secure virtual private networks

• Learn about IPSec protocols and Cisco IOS IPSec packet processing
• Understand the differences between IPSec tunnel mode and transport mode
• Evaluate the IPSec features that improve VPN scalability and fault tolerance, such as dead peer detection and control plane keepalives
• Overcome the challenges of working with NAT and PMTUD
• Explore IPSec remote-access features, including extended authentication, mode-configuration, and digital certificates
• Examine the pros and cons of various IPSec connection models such as native IPSec, GRE, and remote access
• Apply fault tolerance methods to IPSec VPN designs
• Employ mechanisms to alleviate the configuration complexity of a large- scale IPSec VPN, including Tunnel End-Point Discovery (TED) and Dynamic Multipoint VPNs (DMVPN)
• Add services to IPSec VPNs, including voice and multicast
• Understand how network-based VPNs operate and how to integrate IPSec VPNs with MPLS VPNs

Among the many functions that networking technologies permit is the ability for organizations to easily and securely communicate with branch offices, mobile users, telecommuters, and business partners. Such connectivity is now vital to maintaining a competitive level of business productivity. Although several technologies exist that can enable interconnectivity among business sites, Internet-based virtual private networks (VPNs) have evolved as the most effective means to link corporate network resources to remote employees, offices, and mobile workers. VPNs provide productivity enhancements, efficient and convenient remote access to network resources, site-to-site connectivity, a high level of security, and tremendous cost savings.

IPSec VPN Design is the first book to present a detailed examination of the design aspects of IPSec protocols that enable secure VPN communication. Divided into three parts, the book provides a solid understanding of design and architectural issues of large-scale, secure VPN solutions. Part I includes a comprehensive introduction to the general architecture of IPSec, including its protocols and Cisco IOS® IPSec implementation details. Part II examines IPSec VPN design principles covering hub-and-spoke, full-mesh, and fault-tolerant designs. This part of the book also covers dynamic configuration models used to simplify IPSec VPN designs. Part III addresses design issues in adding services to an IPSec VPN such as voice and multicast. This part of the book also shows you how to effectively integrate IPSec VPNs with MPLS VPNs.

IPSec VPN Design provides you with the field-tested design and configuration advice to help you deploy an effective and secure VPN solution in any environment.

This security book is part of the Cisco Press® Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks.

Links

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Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful A Definitive Design and Deployment Guide, June 20, 2005 By  Penny Jakes "CCNP" (University of Montana) - See all my reviews    This review is from: IPSec VPN Design (Paperback) IPSec VPN Design (ISBN 1587051117) focuses on the design and implementation of IPSec VPNs. The authors consider this the "definitive design and deployment guide for secure virtual private networks." There are many theoretical publications covering the foundations of network security, but VPN security design is especially challenging. There are so many variables that even knowing the theoretical concepts, models, tradeoffs, and scalability, it can still be a daunting task. This book is for the advanced/expert in the network security field. Because of the advanced topics presented in this guide, considerable network management and/or a network engineer level of experience is needed to use the wealth of information presented by authors Vijay Bollapragada (CCIE), Mohamed Khalid (CCIE), and Scott Wainner. It is expected that the reader will have a working knowledge of IP routing, architectures, WAN technologies, Cisco IOS, and network security. The introductory chapters... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful Great for IPV4 - No mention of IPV6, February 8, 2008 By  Joel Brown "Junk Yard Dog" (San Diego, ca, USA) - See all my reviews    This review is from: IPSec VPN Design (Paperback) This was a great book if your implementation of IPSec were to be solely on IPV4, however, there is not one mention of the changes that affect Cisco networks with IPSec such as no support for IPSec in the transport mode etc. If IPv6 is not a concern, this book is the best available. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment Falls short on key topics, May 1, 2006 By  Glen Kendell "R2PNetworks.com" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews    This review is from: IPSec VPN Design (Paperback) IPSec VPN Design is not a bad technical book. It's what I call a "Cool Whip" book. It looks good, but there is little that is useful or original. It claims to be "the definitive design and deployment guide". It is not. Most of the explanations are academic and dry. There are many examples. Some are useful. Some are not. Many are outdated. My primary complaint is that it does not cover Pix 7.0. This is a huge oversight for a Cisco Press book published in April 2005. There are several important features in 7.0 such as "hairpinning" or the ability for one spoke (or remote access client) to access another spoke in the hub and spoke model. The book states that hairpinning is not possible and most of the designs are based on this premise. I was also disappointed to find that the book failed to cover ACLs and VPNs. This is an critical topic in VPN design. Too many network administrators simply allow full access of one private network to another using... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment

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Praise For IPSec VPN Design

IPSec VPN Design
Reviewer Name: Penny Jakes, Faculty, The University of Montana
Reviewer Certification: CCNP, CCAI
Rating: ***** out of *****

IPSec VPN Design focuses on the design and implementation of IPSec VPNs. The authors consider this the "definitive design and deployment guide for secure virtual private networks." There are many theoretical publications covering the foundations of network security, but VPN security design is especially challenging. There are so many variables that even knowing the theoretical concepts, models, tradeoffs, and scalability, it can still be a daunting task. This book is for the advanced/expert in the network security field.

Because of the advanced topics presented in this guide, considerable network management and/or a network engineer level of experience is needed to use the wealth of information presented by authors Vijay Bollapragada (CCIE), Mohamed Khalid (CCIE), and Scott Wainner. It is expected that the reader will have a working knowledge of IP routing, architectures, WAN technologies, Cisco IOS, and network security. The introductory chapters briefly "review"” knowledge that the authors expect users to have, which results in getting everyone focused on the starting point of this technical guide.

The concept of network security is not the same in all environments as each VPN will have different connectivity and integration platforms. This guide to designing an IPSec type of VPN is Cisco based. The configuration examples and troubleshooting output are Cisco IOS. Many design principles—efficient, reliable, cost effective, fault-tolerant, and scalable—have commonality in several environments, but again, all illustrations and examples use Cisco technology. This book does design IPSec VPNs from many perspectives.

The organization of IPSec VPN Design is organized into three units: introduction and concepts; design and deployment; service enhancements. This organizes technical material as it moves from a brief review of technologies that use VPNs, to an overview of IPSec architecture, protocols, components, and concludes by examining advanced issues such as voice, multicast, and network-based VPNs.

As an introduction to this topic, an IPSec VPN is configured and packet processing is explained step-by-step using Cisco IOS. The illustrations and diagrams of the topology, end-to-end packet processing, and configuration command output (from show and debug commands) is very helpful to the reader. IPSec protocols and the differences between tunnel mode and transport mode are described.

After an introduction to authentication and security, the authors move into considerable detail and enhanced features of IPSec, scalability, and fault tolerance with dead peer detection or control plane keepalives. There are always unique challenges to implementing VPNs, and this book gives examples from the authors' experience to handle situations for interaction with NAT (Network Address Translation) or PMTUD (Path Maximum Transmission Unit Detection). To end the introduction/concepts unit, authentication/authorization models for remote access users discusses XAUTH (Extended Authentication) and MODE-CFG (Mode-configuration). Cisco's EzVPN connection model and digital certification conclude this unit. The authors then move to applying these concepts to VPN design.

The design and deployment phase considers hub and spoke architecture, failover, fault tolerance, and alleviation of complexity in large-scale situations using TED (Tunnel End-Point Discovery) and DMVPN (Dynamic Multipoint VPN). Advanced enhancements include quality of service (QoS), interoperability with voice and video, and a new type of VPN service known as the network-based VPN.

Topics move from general introductory concepts (Chapters 1-4) to specific design and deployment (Chapters 5-7), and concludes with advanced/integrated service enhancements (Chapters 8-9). The authors have taken care to explain pros and cons of various designs and give alternatives. The "notes" sections illustrate advantages and disadvantages or add relevant comments from the author’s experience. Illustrations are appropriate, easily read, and well-designed. There is an abundance of configuration examples, complete with resulting show and debug output, and all with highlighting to assist the learner. These types of real-world examples are easier to learn from than the traditional technical documentation. The index is complete; there is not a glossary, which might have been helpful for some readers.

Throughout this guide, Bollapragada, Khalid, and Wainner have managed to write at a level that is appropriate for an advanced topic while using examples that are easily understood. Some network managers may not actually design an IPSec VPN, but still need to understand the principles of security, be able to communicate with technical support, and work with network engineers and service providers in maintaining/troubleshooting the VPN. Advanced understanding and good troubleshooting skills are contained in this guide.

IPSec VPN Design is a well-written, concise guide to designing VPNs in general and IPSec VPNs specifically. It would be helpful to individuals taking their networking skills to another level or those studying for CCIE or Security certifications. It targets network engineers and network designers working at the corporate level or working for the service provider. Bollapragada, Khalid, and Wainner each brought their expertise and considerable experience into the collaboration while authoring this book.

An excellent book published by Cisco Press, which deserves a rating of 5 on a 1-5 scale.

Index

Download - 67 KB -- Index

Table of Contents

Chapter 7      Auto-Configuration Architectures for Site-to-Site IPSec VPNs   

IPSec Tunnel Endpoint Discovery 

Principles of TED         

Limitations with TED     

TED Configuration and State     

TED Fault Tolerance     

Dynamic Multipoint VPN    

Multipoint GRE Interfaces         

Next Hop Resolution Protocol  

Dynamic IPSec Proxy Instantiation        

Establishing a Dynamic Multipoint VPN 

DMVPN Architectural Redundancy        

DMVPN Model Summary         

Summary 

Chapter 8      IPSec and Application Interoperability  

QoS-Enabled IPSec VPNs

Overview of IP QoS Mechanisms         

IPSec Implications for Classification      

IPSec Implications on QoS Policies      

VoIP Application Requirements for IPSec VPN Networks    

Delay Implications        

Jitter Implications         

Loss Implications         

IPSec VPN Architectural Considerations for VoIP   

Decoupled VoIP and Data Architectures

VoIP over IPSec Remote Access         

VoIP over IPSec-Protected GRE Architectures  

VoIP Hub-and-Spoke Architecture        

VoIP over DMVPN Architecture

VoIP Traffic Engineering Summary        

Multicast over IPSec VPNs      

Multicast over IPSec-protected GRE

Multicast on Full-Mesh Point-to-Point GRE/IPSec Tunnels     

DMVPN and Multicast          

Multicast Group Security      

Multicast Encryption Summary         

Summary        

Chapter 9      Network-Based IPSec VPNs  

Fundamentals of Network-Based VPNs 

The Network-Based IPSec Solution: IOS Features         

The Virtual Routing and Forwarding Table     

Crypto Keyrings      

ISAKMP Profiles     

Operation of Network-Based IPSec VPNs         

A Single IP Address on the PE       

Front-Door and Inside VRF  

Configuration and Packet Flow         

Termination of IPSec on a Unique IP Address Per VRF        

Network-Based VPN Deployment Scenarios     

IPSec to MPLS VPN over GRE       

IPSec to L2 VPNs   

PE-PE Encryption   

Summary        

Index   

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download - 121 KB -- Chapter 4: IPSec Authentication and Authorization Models

Errata

Errata -- 23 KB