Offering Secure Managed Access Services with BIG-IP Devices

Managed Access Services

Managed access has long been a service offered to SMB and enterprise customers by carriers and managed service providers (MSPs). Traditionally, managed access solutions would include providing a dedicated network connection along with umbrella services for authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA). Increasingly, as users begin to access services from outside the traditional managed access network, these services are also coupled with a secure remote connectivity solution, such as an SSL VPN connection. Managing the user credentials required for the management, however, has always been at best a huge operational expense and challenge, and at worse, a management nightmare and security risk. Updating directory services with user credentials alone—adding new users, deleting old users, updating organization changes, and so on—can quickly become a bottleneck and operational constraint.

In today’s broadband and mobile world, managed access means more than offering an Internet link or entry point for users. Complete managed access services need to pair AAA services, secure connections over any network, and real-time user management into one integrated solution. As the mobile user device market explodes and data needs increase exponentially, managing application traffic to and from users through the managed access network is becoming a critical requirement for MSPs. Applications are driving up bandwidth usage while driving down average revenue per user (ARPU), requiring MSPs to take a more active role in managing the users that access the application services as well as delivering those services to the users.

F5 offers a suite of solutions to help manage access to the network, access to applications, and access to value-add services—such as streaming video and user device tethering, both high bandwidth applications—across the entire service provider network. Designed as an integrated solution marrying user, network, and service management, the F5 Service Delivery Network (SDN) creates a common platform for one-stop managed access service management.

Solution

The F5 Service Delivery Network is an integrated solution platform offering multiple, consolidated product solutions for managed access services.

• BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM)—BIG-IP GTM is a global load balancing and service delivery solution, designed to direct users to the most appropriate service location, based on geography, level of service, and availability.
• BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)—BIG-IP APM is flexible, high-performance security solution for users and back-end services alike. BIG-IP APM provides policy-based, context-aware access to services based on existing user policies while simplifying AAA management. BIG-IP APM can be deployed in a hosted environment—as a physical appliance or running on BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager Virtual Edition (VE), the BIG-IP LTM virtual appliance—or on site, and can be managed discretely by the MSP customer in either deployment scenario. BIG-IP APM provides total flexibility for managed access security solutions.
• BIG-IP Edge Gateway—BIG-IP Edge Gateway is a complete user and access solution for managed access services. BIG-IP Edge Gateway brings together SSL VPN remote access, security, acceleration, bandwidth management, and availability services for all types of remote users.

F5’s SDN solutions bring together all the components required to offer a complete and secure managed access solution in one integrated and consolidated platform. The F5 SDN gives MSPs the flexibility, manageability, and agility necessary to meet user access needs in the world of wired and wireless networks and devices.