C H A P T E R
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VPN 3002 Hardware Client Getting Started
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Understanding the VPN 3002 Hardware Client
The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client communicates with a VPN 3000 Series Concentrator to create a
virtual private network across a TCP/IP network (such as the Internet). The VPN 3002 requires minimal
configuration, and you can monitor, configure, and upgrade multiple hardware clients at multiple sites
from a central location.
The secure connection between the VPN 3002 and the VPN Concentrator is called a tunnel; it uses the
IP Security (IPSec) protocol to negotiate security parameters, create and manage tunnels, encapsulate
packets, transmit or receive them through the tunnel, and unencapsulate them. It can support a single IP
network.
VPN 3002 Hardware Client or VPN Client Software?
The VPN 3002 Hardware Client provides an alternative to deploying the VPN client software to PCs at
remote locations. Like the software client, the VPN 3002 is located at a remote site, and provides a
secure connection to a VPN Concentrator at a central site. It is important to understand that it is a
hardware client, and that you configure it as a client of the central-site VPN Concentrator, not as a
site-to-site connection.
Reasons to use the VPN 3002 rather than the software client include:
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The computers at the remote site have operating systems other than Windows.
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You do not own, control, or want to support the PCs at the remote site. Using the VPN 3002
eliminates the need to install and maintain software on those computers.
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You have a large number of remote sites to which you connect using VPNs, and you want to manage
those VPNs from a central location.
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The VPN 3002 requires minimal configuration.
Hardware Features
There are two versions of this VPN 3002 Hardware Client:
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The VPN 3002 has one public and one private 10/100BASE-T Ethernet interface.
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The VPN 3002-8E has one public interface and a built-in 8-port 10/100BASE-T Ethernet switch as
its private interface.
