Check Point Software Technologies this week announced a stripped-down, dedicated virtual private network (VPN) appliance intended for easy deployment.

Check Point's VPN-1 Net is intended to be deployed at branch offices, remote offices, partner locations and other smaller sites as a replacement for leased, frame relay or dialup links, says Raphael Reich, product marketing manager for Check Point. The product is a VPN-only appliance, not a combination firewall/VPN like Check Point's flagship VPN-1/FireWall-1.

VPN-1 Net's ease of deployment stems from a set of predefined policies, or scenarios, that users choose from when installing the device, Reich says. Users select the scenario that best fits their situation, such as allowing outbound connections to surf the Web, but encrypting all other outbound traffic. Users cannot change these configurations or institute granular policies that define individual user rights, as they can with VPN-1/FireWall-1.

VPN-1 Net is priced based on the number of VPN tunnels supported, starting at $1,000 for five tunnels, whereas VPN-1/FireWall-1 is priced based on the number of end nodes supported.

Check Point also announced its VPN-1 Gateway, a combination VPN/firewall product, has been renamed VPN-1 Pro. The product has also been enhanced to support features including VPN communities, which enables users to define policies that apply to groups of users. Users can be added to an existing community with a single click, and will be configured the same as other users in that community. The community feature can also apply to sites, such that a new site can more easily be added to an existing network, Reich says.

Also new with VPN-1 Pro is a VPN Dashboard, a graphical interface for defining and visualizing VPN communities, and a VPN User Monitor, to monitor, audit and troubleshoot live VPN connections.

VPN-1 Pro pricing starts at $3,500 to support up to 25 nodes. Both products are available now.