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With so many businesses currently operating on a remote scale, IT admins have their work cut out for them. As our business has also been affected by the change to remote working over the last year, we wanted to make it easier for admins to manage groups of remote users and get them set up with a secure and functioning VPN connection.
In this guide, we show you how to use the brand new Enterprise Installer Package to easily get your whole team set up with VPN Tracker 365 in just a few simple steps.
Read MoreVPN Tracker 365 version 21.1.1 is now live and welcomes full support for PPTP VPN connections on Big Sur – exclusively available in Pro and VIP plans.
This new update also brings even better compatibility for IPSec and OpenVPN protocols and a couple of important Connection Safe improvements.
macOS Big Sur brings some major changes to the Mac – both design-wise as well as under the hood.
This means that VPN clients such as Shimo, WatchGuard IPSec Mobile VPN Client for Mac, Pulse Secure, NCP and others are not supported by the new macOS release.
So if macOS Big Sur breaks your VPN client and it has stopped working, check out VPN Tracker 365. It works with most major VPN standards and supports over 300+ different VPN devices out of the box, with detailed setup guides.
Download VPN Tracker 365 for free and get your VPN connection up and running with macOS Big Sur.
Today we’re releasing VPN Tracker 365 version 21, better known as ‘the Big Sur release’.
Quick Breakdown
- VPN Tracker 365 for macOS Big Sur is now available!
- VPN Tracker 365 version 21 offers full support for macOS 11 and upcoming Apple Silicon Macs, as well as some key behind the scenes changes.
- Download the latest version here
It’s been a busy few months re-building VPN Tracker to get things ready for today, so we wanted to share some of the behind the scenes with you. Let’s dive in…
With remote work becoming increasingly more important, it’s critical that you have the equipment you need. Alongside other factors, a good VPN gateway for remote work is essential in enabling your team to securely connect to the office network and work from home productively.
This guide takes you through everything you need to know about choosing a VPN gateway for remote work, as well as how to set up your VPN on your chosen device…
What do I need to move my team to remote work?
Before we begin, let’s quickly review what you’ll need to get your team working from home:
- A VPN Gateway connected your internal network
- Each employee uses their own Internet Connection
- The employee connects via a VPN Client such as VPN Tracker 365 running on their Mac
What to look for in a VPN gateway for remote work
While there is no “one size fits all” solution, here are some key factors to think about when weighing up your options:
Gateway Type
You can typically find two types of VPN gateways: All-in-one routers with VPN support, or dedicated VPN firewalls.
Dedicated VPN Firewalls typically offer more advanced security features and are designed for larger offices. For a smaller office, an all-in-one router with VPN support is easier to configure but will mean replacing your existing equiment.
Action: Decide whether a router or firewall is better suited to your current network setup.
Business vs. Consumer
VPN gateways tend to vary between business- and consumer-level and offer different features respectively. If you’re a small team with 1-3 people connecting, a consumer-level router with VPN support may be enough for your needs. For larger teams, you’ll want to look for a business-level product that has more processing power to support more VPN users simultaneously.
Action: Weigh up your business’ needs and determine which type of VPN device you are going to search for.
How many users are supported?
Many businesses will have to configure more than one VPN connection to suit different users and their specific use-cases. If this is the case for your business, it is important that you check whether the VPN gateway offers support for multiple connections.
Action: If it is likely that you will be setting up more than one VPN connection, make sure to look exclusively at VPN devices which support multiple connections.
Tech Specs
VPN gateways differ massively in terms of their technical specification. Depending on the size and nature of your business, many of the more advanced features offered may not even be relevant.
Action: List the features which are most important for your company and cross-reference these with the gateways’s spec.
As well as multiple connection support, some other important features to look out for may include:
- Supported VPN protocols: E.g. IPSec, OpenVPN, L2TP, PPTP, etc.
- VPN throughput: The higher the throughput, the faster and better the connection will be.
- Processor: The faster your VPN gateway’s processor, the better. A fast processer will make sure your device can handle the demand and allow remote workers to make full use of their internet connection speeds.
Price
VPN gateways vary in price, costing anything from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on how many users they support, their performance and other features.
Action: Be sure to shop around and compare prices of multiple retailers.
Support
Finally, your VPN gateway is a crucial part of your company’s network infrastructure. Should you encounter any issues, it’s important that you are able to quickly get the guidance you need from the manufacturer so you can get things up and running again.
Action: Check the support options on the manufacturer’s website and try to research customer reviews before making your final decision.
Which options are out there?
When it comes to finding the best VPN gateway for remote work, there are many options to choose from. Below we’ve listed some of the most popular choices among our customers, but of course it’s down to you to find the gateway which is right for your business.
Popular consumer/small business gateways include:
NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 R7000
A solid all-in-one choice that offers OpenVPN support, good WiFi coverage and decent performance. Only supports one VPN connection, so suited for individuals wishing to connect to their office.
Key features:
- Easy setup
- Support for OpenVPN connections
- Supports one VPN connection
- WiFi: Supports AC WiFI speeds up to 1300 Mbps
- View it on Amazon
TP Link Safestream TL-R600VPN
A solid, affordable choice for small businesses. This device supports a range of VPN protocols and up to 20 users simultaneously.
Key features:
- Support for IPSec, L2TP and PPTP VPN protocols
- Supports up to 20 VPN users
- Affordable: Under $100
- View it on Amazon
ZyXEL USG40W Unified Security Gateway
With support for WiFi and up to 20 VPN users, this is a great all in one VPN solution for small business users able to spend a little extra.
Key features:
- All-in-one UTM Firewall with WiFi
- Support for IPSec and L2TP VPN protocols
- Supports up to 20 VPN users
- 100 Mbps VPN throughput
- View it on Amazon
Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine (UDM)
Also an all-in-one device, this prosumer gateway solution is another solid choice for smaller businesses.
- Extendable system that offers best-in-class WiFi coverage options
- Easy-to-use cloud-based management solution
- Powerful 1.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor
- View it on the UniFi store
Popular business/enterprise gateways include:
ZyXEL ZyWALL 110 Business Firewall
ZyXEL’s ZyWALL series offers great performance, robust VPN support and can be easily extended with ZyXEL wireless AP solutions for WiFi coverage.
Key features:
- Support for IPSec and L2TP VPN protocols
- Supports up to 100 VPN users
- 400 Mbps VPN throughput
- View it on Amazon
SonicWALL TZ400
As one of the most popular choices amongst VPN Tracker customers, SonicWALL’s TZ-series is a great choice offering excellent performance and advanced security features.
Thanks to SonicWALL Simple Client Provisioning support in VPN Tracker, your VPN will be set up in no time.
Key features:
- SonicWALL Simple Client Provisioning makes connecting with VPN Tracker really easy
- Supports up to 25 VPN users
- 900 Mbps VPN throughput
- 4 x 800 MHz processors
- View it on Amazon
Juniper SRX550 Enterprise Firewall
The Juniper SRX550 is a high end, business-level gateway aimed at mid to large branch locations. The impressive spec of this model means it doesn’t come cheap, but there are other lower-spec models available in the SRX series.
Key features:
- Supports IPSec VPN connections
- Support for up to 2000 VPN users
- 1.0 Gbps VPN throughput
- View it on the Juniper website
How to configure a VPN connection for your VPN gateway
Now you’ve chosen your VPN gateway, it’s time for you to configure your VPN connection. With step-by-step configuration guides for 300+ VPN routers, VPN Tracker makes this easy. You can find configuration guides for all leading gateway manufacturers here.
To get set up:
- Find your guide in the list,
- Download the VPN Tracker 365 app,
- Follow the steps to configure the VPN connection for your team.
Learn more about VPN Tracker on our website, or contact us directly for a quote or if you have any questions.
Disclaimer: Some of the links included in this blog post are affiliate links.
With countries all over the world requiring people to stay at home, the VPN Tracker 365 Team is committed to helping all customers successfully move to remote work.
You can rest assured that we continue to offer full support to our customers and have taken key steps to increase our support capacity during this difficult time.
Support Information
- Our support team continues to be available for you during this time
- We’ve updated all FAQs to cover your most common issues
- The more information you include in your support request, the better. Please include a Technical Support Report (TSR) from inside the VPN Tracker app
- Support is only available for VPN Tracker 365 customers; Users of earlier VPN Tracker versions will need to purchase a VPN Tracker 365 plan
- Priority is given to VPN Tracker 365 VIP customers
Upcoming updates
We’re continuing to work on improving VPN Tracker 365 and will be shipping an update in the next few weeks with improved logs and troubleshooting tips for common connection issues we’ve seen over the last few weeks.
Getting Started with Work from Home
We’ve written some posts to highlight VPN Tracker 365 features that help improve work from home productivity:
How to Move Your Team to a Remote Work Setup
How to Work from Home Productively
Working from Home with VPN – Your FAQs answered
Stay safe & stay home!
Your VPN Tracker 365 Team
The Coronavirus has you working from home? For many people, this change will take some getting used to. Especially when using complex tools like a VPN for the first time, learning how to work from home productively can be a challenge at first.
Try these simple tips in VPN Tracker 365 to improve your productivity while working from home…
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, thousands of offices around the world are following government guidelines and moving their staff to work from home.
This is a big change for everyone involved. Here are some of our best tips on how to quickly move your entire team to a remote work setup and keep everyone working productively from home.
Read MoreThe current COVID 19 crisis has more and more professionals working from home with VPN. For many of you working remotely and using VPN for the first time, it may take a few days to adjust to this new workflow.
To help you get started and work more productively, here are our solutions for a few common working from home FAQs…
Read More
