Hoping to make secure access to its Wi-Fi network simpler, DePaul University early this month deployed new Secure Sockets Layer virtual private network (SSL VPN) technology for its 23,000 students on five campuses, Nicola Foggi, network engineer at DePaul in Chicago, said Monday in an interview.

Previously, DePaul had a Wi-Fi network for about three years that relied on a home-grown access system relying on distribution of Wired Equivalent Privacy keys to users, Foggi said. "There was nothing really top security about it, and it had a lot of steps for students, so we wanted to streamline it," he said. "More and more students are just expecting easy-to-use Wi-Fi, and more colleges are providing it."

After doing research and testing hardware from Aventail Corp. in Seattle, the system went live in early September, he said.

DePaul installed two Aventail EX 2500 appliances in its downtown data center that run Aventail's ST2 SSL VPN software at a cost of about US$100,000, Foggi said. The system is licensed to handle 1,000 simultaneous connections, offering endpoint control and the ability to check for security updates on user machines.

Aventail appeared to be a market leader, and upon testing, it stood out over competitors for its compatibility with a variety of end-user clients, from PCs to Macintoshes as well as Linux machines and Windows Mobile handhelds, he said. DePaul also looked at Aventail competitors Juniper Networks Inc. and F5 Networks Inc., Foggi said.