1.1 What is SoftEther VPN?

Version from 19:45, 15 Jan 2014

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For many old VPN protocols there is a problem if the range of platforms that support the various VPN protocols is not very wide, and even if they can be used among multiple platforms, differences in respective implementation have caused resulted in trouble in practical application in some cases.

Some VPN protocols furthermore require hardware of certain network device vendors and compatibility of protocols among vendors has declined.

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Currently, even for ordinary homes, with the backbone of broadband line businesses of several tens to 100Mbps, Internet connection lines of gigabit scale are available at an extremely low price compared to several years ago. There is not that much VPN hardware and VPN products that can use these fast physical lines efficiently enough, and the ones that do exist are mostly installed on extremely expensive network dedicated devices.

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Old VPN protocol includes the problems described above and various other problems. A high function, reliable, highly flexible VPN system that solves the problems and limitations is therefore necessary.

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Along with solving various limitations of old VPN solutions such as those previously described, SoftEther VPN is VPN software with many new innovative functions.

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By just using SoftEther VPN, many of the matters such as those whereas in the past problems could not be solved unless you combined multiple network security products or software, and programming or developed original tools can be realized by a simple operation.

As forSoftEther VPN, encapsulated and tunneling communications, layer 2, in other words, set to Ethernet, if SoftEther VPN is used, network devices such as conventional network adapter switching HUB and layer 3 switch are realized by software, and by connecting by tunnel called SoftEther VPN protocol based on TCP/IP protocol among them, the user can construct highly flexible VPN that was not possible with products up to now.

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Unlike old many VPN protocols, SoftEther VPN targets layer 2 (Ethernet) for VPN communications. In other words, with VPN that targeted old layer 3, encapsulated IP packets flowed through the tunnel, but with SoftEther VPN, encapsulated Ethernet packets flow though the tunnel.

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Packets that virtually flow in VPN session which is an Ethernet network are actually encapsulated and flow through a physical IP network. At this time however SoftEther VPN encapsulates random Ethernet frames to TCP/IP protocol. This point is a feature not present in the majority of old VPN protocols.

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If SoftEther VPN is used, VPN communications can be easily and safely conducted even in environments that used to be hard to use VPN because of NAT, proxy server and firewall settings.

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Users can also safely access company LAN via free Internet connection spots such as destination stations and airport hotels if they take along a laptop computer installed with VPN Client. Because many free Internet connection spots have introduced NAT or firewall transparent proxy servers, VPN protocol cannot be used in many cases. If equipped with SoftEther VPN however they can be used without worry.

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As was previously mentioned, SoftEther VPN uses TCP/IP protocol only for VPN communications and any Ethernet frames can be tunneled. When VPN communication is carried out, SoftEther VPN encrypts all data by Internet standard encryption protocol called Secure Socket Layer (SSL). At this time the system administrator can use any encryption algorithm of electronic signature algorithm he chooses. For details see 3.3 VPN Server Administration.

With SoftEther VPN, not only is communications encrypted, but security concerning user authentication and server authentication is bolstered. SoftEther VPN supports user authentication using RADIUS servers used by companies, NT domain / Active Directory and certificate authentication using X509 and RSA. Also supports some smart cards used for purposes deemed necessary for high security. For details see 1.5 Strong Security Features.

Protocol used for transmitting VPN communications packets and security checks such as user authentication actually flowing through a physical IP network during VPN communications is called SoftEther VPN protocol. SoftEther VPN protocol not only encrypts all communication contents by SSL, but it establishes several simultaneous SSL connections established between VPN Server and VPN Client or with VPN Bridge, and by altering the timing by a certain interval and reconnecting, is able to stably communicate through some special network devices whereby TCP/IP connection is lost for a certain time interval. Stable VPN communication can also be carried out with telephone lines with high packet loss rate, some ADSL, PHS, wireless LAN, etc. For details see 4.4 Making Connection to VPN Server.

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SoftEther VPN is optimized to exhibit high performance for any line from low speed lines such as ISDN and PHS to high speed lines such as 100Mbps and 1.0Gbps. For example, it can exhibit throughput of several hundred Mbps for a computer with a Pentium 4 2.8GHz processor currently available for a low price even if using a VPN Server.

Problems such as decline or marked delay in throughput due to re-transmission if TCP/IP protocol previously discussed in several theses is used for tunnel communications for VPN are improved by technology to establish multiple parallel TCP/IP connections between VPN Server and VPN Client or with VPN Bridge. For details see 4.4 Making Connection to VPN Server.

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Many older VPN products only realized VPN communications. For example, advanced function such as logging all packets flowing inside VPN, conducting packet filtering inside VPN communications, or applying a highly flexible security policy are extremely rare.

With SoftEther VPN, software of VPN Server, VPN Client, etc., is equipped with extremely advanced functions. For example, the following functions can be easily set and used, and can be used for limiting VPN communications, network administration or other purposes.

...

With SoftEther VPN, the majority of these functions are provided in software rather than certain hardware. The internal program structure is meticulously formed into modules thus facilitating addition of new functions in the future, and is much more expandable than hardware-based VPN solutions.

...

The SoftEther VPN program code is written in highly interchangeable C and is programmed so as not to be dependent on a certain operating system. SoftEther VPN currently supports the operating environment indicated in Specifications, but will support even more operating systems and CPU hardware in the future. Also facilitates integration of network appliances such as routers and firewalls.

SoftEther VPNs that operate in various environments can also be reliably connected with each other via the Internet. Thus if a VPN is constructed using SoftEther VPN, if the number of systems or devices that support SoftEther VPN increased, mutual connect ability is technically maintained with the systems.

Version as of 13:06, 16 Jan 2014

...

For many old VPN protocols there is a problem if the range of platforms that support the various VPN protocols is not very wide, and even if they can be used among multiple platforms, differences in respective implementation have caused resulted the trouble in practical application in some cases.

Some VPN protocols furthermore require hardware of certain network device vendors and compatibility of protocols among vendors which declined.

...

Currently, even for ordinary homes, with the backbone of broadband line businesses of several tens to 100Mbps, Internet connection lines of gigabit scale are available at an extremely low price compared to several years ago. There is not that much VPN hardware and VPN products that can use these fast physical lines efficiently enough, and even the ones that dose exist are mostly installed on extremely expensive network dedicated devices.

...

Old VPN protocol includes the problems described above and various other problems. So a high function, reliable, highly flexible VPN system that can solves the problems and limitations was therefore very necessary. 

...

Along with solving various limitations of old VPN solutions that has been described earlier, SoftEther VPN is the VPN software that have been waited for which have many new innovative functions with.

...

By just using SoftEther VPN, many of the matters such as those problems in the past could not be solved (unless you combined multiple network security products or software, and programming or developed original tools) can be realized by a simple operation.

SoftEther VPNis set to, encapsulated and tunneling communicationsand layer 2, in other words, to Ethernet. When SoftEther VPN is used, network devices such as conventional network adapter switching HUB and layer 3 switch are realized by software, and by connecting the tunnel called SoftEther VPN protocol based on TCP/IP protocol among them, the user can construct highly flexible VPN that was never possible with products up to now.

...

Unlike the old many VPN protocols, SoftEther VPN targets the layer 2 (Ethernet) for VPN communications. In other words, with VPN which have targeted old layer 3, encapsulated IP packets flowed through the tunnel. But with SoftEther VPN, it will encapsulated Ethernet packets flow though the tunnel.

...

Packets that virtually flow in VPN session which is an Ethernet network are actually encapsulated and flow through a physical IP network. At this point, however, SoftEther VPN encapsulates random Ethernet frames to TCP/IP protocol. This point is a feature that was not present in the majority of old VPN protocols.

...

When SoftEther VPN is used, VPN communications can be easily and safely conducted proxy server and firewall settings even in environments that used to be hard to use VPN because of NAT.

...

Users can also safely access company LAN via free Internet connection spots, such as destination stations and airport hotels when they take along a laptop computer installed with VPN Client. Because many free Internet connection spots have introduced NAT or firewall transparent proxy servers, VPN protocol could not be used in many cases before. however they can be used without worry by equipping the SoftEther VPN.

...

As it was previously mentioned, SoftEther VPN uses TCP/IP protocol only for VPN communications and any Ethernet frames can be tunneled. When VPN communication is carried out, SoftEther VPN encrypts all data by Internet standard encryption protocol which is called Secure Socket Layer (SSL). At this time the system administrator can use any encryption algorithm of electronic signature algorithm administrator chooses. For details see 3.3 VPN Server Administration.

With SoftEther VPN, itsnot only communications encrypted, but security concerning user authentication and server authentication are bolstered. SoftEther VPN supports user authentication by using the RADIUS servers used by companies, NT domain / Active Directory and certificate authentication using X509 and RSA. Also supports some smart cards used for purposes which is deemed necessary for high security. For details see 1.5 Strong Security Features.

Protocol that has been used for transmitting VPN communications packets and security checks such as user authentication actually flowing through a physical IP network during VPN communications is called SoftEther VPN protocol. SoftEther VPN protocol is not only encrypts all communication contents by SSL, but it establishes several simultaneous SSL connections established between VPN Server and VPN Client or with VPN Bridge. Also by altering the timing by a certain interval and reconnecting, it is able to stably communicate through some special network devices whereby TCP/IP connection which is lost for a certain time interval. Stable VPN communication can also be carried out with telephone lines with high packet loss rate, some ADSL, PHS, wireless LAN, etc. For details see 4.4 Making Connection to VPN Server.

...

SoftEther VPN is optimized to exhibit high performance for any line from low speed lines, ISDN and PHS to high speed lines such as 100Mbps and 1.0Gbps. For example, it can be exhibit throughput of several hundred Mbps for a computer with a Pentium 4 2.8GHz processor currently available for a low price even by using a VPN Server.

Problems like decline or marked delay in throughput due to re-transmission of TCP/IP protocol previously is used for tunnel communications for VPN which has been discussed in several theses, has been improved by technology to establish multiple parallel TCP/IP connections between VPN Server and VPN Client or with VPN Bridge. For details see 4.4 Making Connection to VPN Server.

...

With SoftEther VPN, software of VPN Server, VPN Client, etc., are equipped with extremely advanced functions. For example, the following functions can be easily set and used, and can be used for limiting VPN communications, network administration or other purposes.

...

With SoftEther VPN, the majority of these functions are provided in software rather than certain hardware. The internal program structure is meticulously formed into modules thus facilitating addition of new functions in the future, and this will be much more expandable than hardware-based VPN solutions.

...

The SoftEther VPN program code is written in highly interchangeable C and is programmed so as not to be dependent on a certain operating system. SoftEther VPN currently supports the operating environment indicated in Specifications, but will be supporting even more operating systems and CPU hardware in the future. Also facilitates integration of network appliances such as routers and firewalls.

SoftEther VPNs that operate in various environments can also be reliably connected with each other via the Internet. Thus if you construct a VPN that using SoftEther VPN, when the number of systems or devices that supports SoftEther VPN increased, mutual connect ability will be technically maintained with the systems.