Clavister, a leading provider of enterprise security solutions today launched Clavister Firewall version 8.1, which adds a number of new important features to Clavister Firewall, including true IPsec NAT Traversal and User Authentication via HTTP/XAUTH using RADIUS back-ends. The new release also includes an improved installation process, which among other things simplifies network installations of the Clavister management software.

The IPsec NAT Traversal feature permits both client-to-gateway as well as gateway-to-gateway IPsec tunnels over NATing gateways. Gateways will automatically make use of NAT traversal if they deem it necessary, and it requires no further configuration to activate this support in gateways. NAT traversal support is already available in the Clavister VPN Client.

Starting from version 8.1, users can now be required to authenticate to the firewall before gaining access to specified resources. Authentication can be done either via the IKE XAUTH protocol to authenticate VPN tunnels, or via HTTP to authenticate other traffic. User Authentication can be enabled on a per-rule level, which allows for very fine-grained access controls. Separate authentication policies can thus be applied for different resources or different network segments. This virtualization also includes the HTTP logon user interface, which can be fully customized to reflect the intended usage.

Authentication credentials are obtained via RADIUS, which includes Microsoft Active Directory via Microsoft Internet Authentication Services, but also many other types of RADIUS servers.

"The new Clavister Firewall version 8.1 is an important milestone in our ambition to create solutions that are capable of managing also the complex networks of tomorrow,” said John Vestberg, vice president of technology at Clavister. “With the inventive engineering behind all Clavister products, we are truly giving the word flexibility a new meaning."

The new software version is freely available for all Clavister users with a valid software subscription. The upgrade can be downloaded from the Clavister Client Web Pages at https://clientweb.clavister.com.

For detailed information about changes and bug fixes in the new release, please see the "Release Notes" section at http://www.clavister.com.

About Clavister
Clavister is a leading developer of high-performance IT/IP security. The products, based on unique technology, include carrier-class firewalls and VPN solutions. They have been awarded preferred choice by international press and are in use today by thousands of satisfied customers. In short; In a world where people depend on information, Clavister provides complete security solutions more cost-efficient than any competitor, always with Your business in mind.

Clavister was founded 1997 in Sweden. Its R&D and headquarters is situated in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden and its solutions are marketed and sold through sales offices, distributors and resellers in Europe and Asia. Clavister also offers its technology to OEM manufacturers.