Easy Internet access
Internet access from a network is crucial for many companies today. Deerfield.com's WinGate 3.0 is an impressive Internet sharing solution for workgroups with fewer than 100 users.
WinGate runs on Windows NT or Windows 9x and provides proxy servers for Web, FTP, SMTP, POP3, SOCKS, Telnet, VDOLive, RealAudio, and Xing StreamWorks (XDMA) services. WinGate's proxy servers offer additional benefits, such as caching, that improve overall network performance. The software also runs standard IP server services such as DNS and DHCP. These services are useful if you have a Win95-only network (NT includes DNS and DHCP servers).
Three Versions
WinGate is available in three versions: Home, Standard, and Pro. The Home version is a subset of the Standard version. In addition to all the services that the Standard version includes, the Home version includes automatic configuration. Unfortunately, you can't disable or completely configure some services. WinGate's proxy servers are most useful to networks with dozens of users. Because a home or small business might have only two or three users, the Home version doesn't include proxy servers.
The Standard version is a subset of the Pro version and includes proxy servers for Web, VDOLive, XDMA, POP3, FTP, RealAudio, and Telnet services. You can enable services and proxy servers selectively and configure them individually. (For more information about proxy servers, see the sidebar "Proxy Servers," page 174.) The Standard version supports caching of Web pages and Web access controls. The POP3 proxy server works with existing POP3 and SMTP servers. Screen 1 shows the POP3 Proxy server Properties dialog box. The Standard version doesn't maintain a user database, so security settings and logging are global. Administration is local. The Standard version is ideal for small businesses that can give users identical Internet access.
WinGate's Pro version works best for small to midsize organizations with an experienced systems administrator who needs selective control over Internet access. The Pro version maintains a user and group database, which lets administrators set security and Internet access policies and local proxy server use. WinGate Pro supports local and remote management, and you can view system log files via a built-in Web server operating on port 8010. The Pro version also includes an integrated scheduler for starting and stopping services.
WinGate's Pro version fares well against competitors such as Microsoft Proxy Server. WinGate is easier for users to manage, especially when they use transient connections such as modem or ISDN links. But products such as Proxy Server come out on top when you link multiple proxy servers across a network in which proxy servers cooperate to cache information.
New in WinGate 3.0
WinGate 3.0 adds several new features to the 2.0 version. WinGate Internet Client in version 3.0 uses Winsock Redirector Protocol (WRP), so you don't need to access proxy services directly. For example, Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Netscape Navigator can specify a Web proxy server to handle all Web access. Web access occurs through the WinGate server, so the Web proxy server can transparently provide cached Web access. WinGate Internet Client uses WinGate's Gateway Discovery Protocol (GDP) to locate the WinGate server, which makes client configuration easy.
WRP lets more than one IP stack operate on a client. This capability lets you establish a connection to local IP-based services and retain dial-out access. Some competing products use one IP stack that forces IP access through the matching server, preventing dial-out IP operation unless you change the network configuration.
GateKeeper in WinGate 3.0 includes new features, such as a history view of user and server activity. The Pro version of WinGate's GateKeeper lets administrators manage WinGate users remotely.
The Pro version's security now limits access by IP address. The integrated scheduler in the Pro version is also new and can start and stop WinGate services and run Windows applications at specified times.