ZyXEL Delivers First Industry Standard L2TP Support for Remote Access Bridge/Routers
HANNOVER, Germany, March 19, 1998 - ZyXEL Communications of Hsinchu, Taiwan, will release new L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) enabled functionality for the upgraded Prestige 128 Plus bridge/router. This delivers authenticate end-to-end network connection between remote access users and their corporate network with a technology infrastructure in the Virtual Private Network (VPN) environments. ZyXEL is among one of the first companies to deliver the functionality of the new L2TP protocol at CeBIT '98, Europe's largest technology trade show.
ZyXEL's Prestige 128 Plus is one of the first bridge/router to support L2TP specifically for remote access users. L2TP is a new IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standard protocol which allows end-to-end network connection between branch and corporate offices via Internet tunneling. L2TP separates the physical wide area network access point from PPP servers to let users outsource remote access service to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) while maintaining strong endpoint authentication.
Cost-savings
With the help of L2TP and Internet, long-distance calls for connecting remote office are replaced by local calls to the ISP. Significant savings can be realized in the telephone cost.
"L2TP provides a new measure of cost-savings today for the remote access user that was previously unavailable," said Tony Hsu, international marketing manager at ZyXEL. "Through our support of this new standard, we are effectively helping to build a reliable infrastructure for direct end-to-end communications between individual Prestige users over the Internet without requiring L2TP support from ISP. Network users will now have the convenience and secure means to remotely access their corporate network.��
"It's the kind of cutting edge technology that continues to set ZyXEL's Prestige products apart from the competition and is consistent with ZyXEL's strong history of being a leader in supporting emerging connectivity standards." Hsu added.
L2TP Functionality
The two endpoints of a L2TP tunnel perform different functions. The LNS (L2TP Network Server) terminates the PPP connection and negotiates directly with the user��s PPP protocol stack. The LAC (L2TP Access Concentrator) relays the traffic between the LNS and the user. ZyXEL��s implementation supports both functions within a single Prestige device.
Direct Mode Tunneling
ZyXEL's Prestige 128 Plus is the first L2TP-enabled connectivity device for ROBO users that provide direct mode tunneling for the network end-to-end transmission of data. Individual users in branch offices with an L2TP- enabled ZyXEL Prestige router can communicate with corporate data centers also using an L2TP-enabled ZyXEL Prestige router. Tunneling originates from the Prestige at the branch office to the Prestige at the corporate data center without requiring help from the ISP.
About L2TP
L2TP, which is sanctioned by the IETF, tunnels Point-To-Point Protocol (PTPP) traffic over private or public networks or the Internet. With this protocol, this provides the same level of authentication as PPP/CHAP and prevents unauthorized individuals from intercepting individual transmissions which can commonly occur with traditional Internet communications.
Backed by all major Network vendors, including Microsoft and Cisco, the new L2TP protocol competes closely with proprietary protocols, Microsoft's PPTP and Cisco��s L2F, and resides exclusively at the PPP layer so protocols other than IP are easily supported. The L2TP protocol will soon be widely deployed through major ISPs and provide tunneling for virtual private networks and telecommuting/roaming applications.
About ZyXEL Communications
ZyXEL Communications Corporation (http://www.zyxel.com), located in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is a leading supplier of high-speed ISDN terminal adapters, remote access routers, modems, and compatible LAN/WAN data communications products. Since its inception, ZyXEL has built a strong reputation as the price/performance leader in connectivity devices by providing high quality and high performance at affordable prices