VNS3 Free - Network Controller (Firewall/Router/VPN)
Cohesive Networks | 6.1.4-20231011Linux/Unix, Other 6.1.4 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
The product is AMAZING !!!
I've been using VNS3 for some time now and the product is just great ! it easy to install configure and deploy and it supports ALL types (and I mean ALL types) of VPN configurations such as using NAT-T with Public IP's on Amazon (to overcome challenges of where providers cannot allow your FW to use 10 / 172 / 192 [regular nat] addresses) and all other types of limitations.
needless to say that the support engineers are FAST ! and super professional with anything and everything that I've ever asked about.
Overall I could only say that this product is currently the best out there and I will definitely use it in my projects.
I would like to use this opportunity to personally thank Mr. Randi Thomas for all the help your teams have provided - you guys ROCK !!!!
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Solves the VPC tunnel limit problem!
Need more than one IPSEC tunnel into an AWS region? Then you need this! Simple, easy, up and running in 10 minutes. Their support staff is unbelievably responsive!!
Working great so far.
I wasn't quite sure how this would work, but after reading the documentation, and with some additional help on some fine points from support (which was very helpful before and after I upgraded to a Lite license even without buying support packs), I am able to do NAT from my private subnets, add servers, laptops, virtual desktops from AWS WorkSpaces, and so on, to the "overlay network" (the virtual private LAN that you can join your devices to via openvpn), and communicate on virtual private LAN between public and private subnets and devices that join the overlay. You can use iptables rules to control the access between devices. I have not used IPSEC to add my on-premises net to the VNS3 gateway, since I am already hooked up via Amazon's VPN gateway, but it looked straightforward. This is a very flexible platform for creating a virtual network from devices in diverse networks in the cloud, on the road, or on-premises. I haven't explored the the potential of the Docker container functionality or the use of multiple managers to connect two cloud networks together (as opposed to just adding devices in other cloud networks to one VNS3 instance's overlay network via openvpn), but I like the idea that there is plenty of room to add to your virtual network and extend the basic platform functionality.
Unparalleled customer service!
We are using VNS3.5 to create a VPN to a customer's site with different IPsec requirements than what amazon can provide out of the box.
VNS3 has solved our challenges, but it was their customer service that was truly remarkable. Simply put, the most amazing service I have ever encountered. The support team helped us with setup and configuration. When we encountered unusual challenges beyond the normal intent of their software, support helped us find a solution, where others could not. I was impressed with the flexibility of the software.
CohesiveFT will definitely be our solution for future VPNs!
A necessary addition to VPC
We are running a SaaS business from AWS that requires VPN connections to many of our customer sites for data feeds remote access. The VPN feature of VPC is limited and assumes that you control both sides of the VPN.
In our case we often have to NAT addresses coming through the VPN as well as match configuration specifications that are unavailable in VPC. Also, with VPC there is no visibility into the health of the VPN other than a simple UP or DOWN. It's very difficult to troubleshoot or even bounce the tunnel.
VNS3 has solved those issues for us. It provides a virtual networking device that is configurable and maintainable. But the best part is the support that Cohesive gives. They are available at the drop of a hat to assist in setting up and/or troubleshooting VPN issues, and are very good at what they do.
It also really helps that they are always willing to explain the problem and solution, so we can get better at handling issues ourselves.
Special thanks to Ryan and Patrick!
VPN feasibility study using CohesiveFT to Cisco ASA5520
Recently our team was tasked to create a VPN tunnel to one of our partners networks. Based on prior reviews we selected to use the CohesiveFT VNS3 image from the AWS marketplace to do our tests. Our requirements involved very specific IKE and IPSEC parameters that were not negotiable and thus the native VPN client provided by the Amazon VPC was not an option.
The deployment of the CohesiveFT VNS3 Free Edition was very smooth and we did not encounter any issues getting the manager up and running. We also had no issues deploying the Overlay network and connecting our clients using the clientpak+OpenVPN which really simplifies the sometimes cumbersome process of sharing keys/certs across machines.
Initially we struggled to establish a Tunnel but here is where we learned the true value of the CohesiveFT team and their outstanding support. Within minutes of logging a request for help their team assisted us by provided valuable suggestions that ultimately led us to a resolution. They even logged in to our manager and created a valid tunnel to their network to validate the configuration was ok on our side. In the end the problem turned out to be our partner's endpoint configuration. We are certain that without their assistance a simple issue like this would have taken us days to resolve.
Thanks again to Ryan and his team for all the help!