WorkPlace

The WorkPlace portal provides users with quick access to resources on your network. WorkPlace provides a range of access methods for you to choose from:

• Basic Web (HTTPS) resources are accessible using the Web translation engine, a reverse proxy that provides single sign-on and fine-grained access control. The web translation engine has three modes of operation:

  • Alias-based translation appends a custom alias to the end of the URL that users access (also called URL re-writing). For example, if you specify http://hr.mycompany.com/ as a URL resource with an alias of hr, users would access it by clicking on a link in Workplace that looked like this: https://vpn.mycompany.com/hr/. This type of configuration is recommended for simple web applications that do not require advanced functionality, like JavaScript. SonicWall supports a limited number of applications in the alias-based translated web access method; see Web Application Services.

  • Host-mapped URL access changes the hostname that the resource is accessed on. For example, if http://hr.mycompany.com/ URL resource is configured with a custom hostname of hr.vpn.mycompany.com, users access the resource by clicking on a link that looks like this in Workplace: https://hr.vpn.mycompany.com/. Host mapped URL access is recommended for complex web applications that may use advanced JavaScript (and other advanced web technologies).

    • Port-mapped URL access changes the port number that the resource is accessed on. For example, if http://hr.mycompany.com/ URL resource is configured with a custom port (8888) for access, users access the resource by clicking on a link that looks like this in Workplace: https://vpn.mycompany.com:8888/. One of the downsides of custom port URL access is that it does require you to open up a port for each web application that you want to configure to use the port mapped URL access.

      Port-mapped URL resources is recommended for complex web applications that may use JavaScript, and other advanced web technologies.

• File system resources are accessible from the Network Explorer that is integrated in WorkPlace.
• Client/server traffic (TCP/IP) is accessible using one of the network redirection clients, OnDemand Tunnel. The client is provisioned automatically or activated when the user logs in to WorkPlace.

The access method you choose will be based on several factors, including the network protocols used by your applications, your security requirements, end-user convenience, and the target platforms.