BGAN M2M Service Provided by Ground Control
Ground Control offers several ways to secure your BGAN M2M network connection:
- BGAN Firewall Controls – free custom rules for each BGAN SIM card.
- IPSec VPN for a low-cost private BGAN network.
- Co-Location customer owned VPN hardware at an Inmarsat SAS point worldwide.
- Point-to-Point VPN end-to-end VPN using customer equipment.
- A Private BGAN Network via MPLS to an Inmarsat SAS points.
1. BGAN M2M Firewall Controls - Free
Firewall rules – a whitelist of IP addresses, protocols, and ports – can limit what incoming or outgoing traffic is permitted over the BGAN M2M network.
The firewall rules are placed at the Inmarsat teleport and can effectively block all unauthorized traffic not defined on the whitelist. Implementing a firewall is easy and there’s no cost. If used properly, firewalls can reduce a service bill by thousands of dollars, since there’ll be no unauthorized or background traffic. By default, all incoming traffic is blocked to the BGAN M2M terminal unless it has a public IP address and a whitelist of approved IPs that can access the terminal. Here are details on BGAN firewall controls.
2. IPSec VPN to Inmarsat - High Security - Avoids Public IP Costs
Requires IPSec capable router at subscriber headquarters. 12-month minimum term.
Use your IPSec VPN capable routers to connect to our IPSec routers at one of the above Inmarsat BGAN teleports.
Since the VPN doesn’t go over the satellite link (which is itself highly secure), VPN performance is excellent and the overhead VPN data doesn’t add to the cost of using the BGAN network. VPN performance over the BGAN network takes a substantial hit in performance since latency averages 1200 milliseconds.
VPN also adds significantly to the total amount of data transferred over the satellite link, and with the cost of BGAN charging by the megabyte transferred, it makes sense to terminate the VPN at the nearest SAS teleport.
One great advantage to using an IPSec VPN is that individual BGAN terminals don’t need to be issued public-static IP addresses at a cost of $20 per SIM per month. Included in the cost are private IP addresses, which in effect pays for IPSec VPN if six or more terminals are deployed. Please email sales@groundcontrol.com for more information.
3. Co-Location VPN at Inmarsat - Avoids Public IP Costs
SAS BGAN Teleports at New York, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Amsterdam.
Similar to IPSec VPN, co-location lets your firm install your own VPN hardware at one of the Inmarsat SAS locations.
Like IPSec VPN, co-location VPN terminates at one of the Inmarsat SAS locations, so there’s no performance drop common with VPN over a high latency satellite link. Second, there’s no need to configure remote equipment with a VPN since all remote traffic is privately routed through the Inmarsat network to your co-located VPN hardware, thus avoiding the $20 per SIM monthly charge on public IP addresses.
Also, the monthly cost doesn’t change if you have one or 100 remote sites. Please email sales@groundcontrol.com for more information.
4. Point-to-Point VPN
You may use your own VPN at the remote site and connect it over the satellite link to your home server at no added cost to your existing service. There’s no need to inform Ground Control that you’re using a VPN over your BGAN network link.
Please note that VPN performance over satellite will increase the amount of data transferred and not all VPNs work well over satellite. It’s advisable to test a solution to confirm it operates within required specifications. However, most of today’s VPN solutions can work over a satellite link.
5. Private BGAN Network
Ground Control can establish an MPLS connection from the Inmarsat SAS to your organization’s network. Any solution can be discussed, and applications are integrated by a specialized Inmarsat IT engineering team.
To ensure that you’re developing an efficient worldwide network, we’ll offer you the best and most cost-effective solution. If your organization requires MPLS, we highly recommend using IPSec VPN for testing and switching to MPLS routing for the long term. Please email sales@groundcontrol.com for more information.
Helping You Choose
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