Netgate Releases TNSR Software Version 24.02

Netgate® is pleased to announce the release of TNSR® software version 24.02. This is a regularly scheduled release of TNSR software, including additional hardware support, updates, and bug fixes. Release Notes are available for review.

Overview

Netgate TNSR is a high-speed (exceeding 100 Gbps) virtual router and VPN aggregator.  Businesses can deploy TNSR as a Netgate hardware appliance, Bare Metal Image, KVM, and ESXi, or a Virtual Appliance on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. 

TNSR software leverages several open-source projects and Netgate value-added software.  Netgate integrates these technologies into an enterprise-grade turnkey software solution complemented by Netgate-assured testing, release packaging, and 24/7 customer support.

Major Changes and Feature

Remote Access IPsec (Mobile IPsec) EAP-RADIUS support

TNSR now supports remote access from IKEv2 clients using EAP-RADIUS authentication. This feature extends our secure connections for mobile devices. It adds another available authentication mechanism for mobile IPsec VPN users (TNSR also supports EAP-TLS with certificates or pre-shared passwords). Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) is a centralized authentication service that holds client credentials. Customer administrators only need to manage one credential store and do not need to worry about local passwords, greatly simplifying employee onboarding and access management.

LDAP Authentication for local access

Netgate has added external authentication using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). The centralized LDAP server provides granular enterprise-level authentication to access TNSR management via SSH.  

BGP Graceful Restart

BGP Graceful Restart (RFC 4724) is an open standard that defines the mechanisms to allow BGP speakers to continue to forward data packets along known routes during a BGP restart. When configured between peers, the restarting BGP speaker will notify its peers and indicate the routes it can preserve in its forwarding. The “helper” peers will continue advertising these routes to their peers. This reduces the exchange of full routes and traffic disruption caused by the “down/up” transition. 

Core Technology Upgrades

We have upgraded essential elements of the TNSR Software Stack as a commitment to continual improvement and efficiency.

Control Plane

• Upgraded StrongSwan to version 5.9.13
• Upgraded Free Range Routing (FRR) to version v9.1

Management Plane

• Upgraded Clixon to version 6.5.0

Installing the Upgrade

For detailed upgrade instructions, please consult the Netgate TNSR detailed Upgrade Guide on our TNSR documentation page.

We recommend saving a backup of the TNSR configuration before any significant change or upgrade. You will find Backup and Recovery instructions on our TNSR documentation page.

Netgate Support

This TNSR 24.02 software release is ready for use in production environments. Should any issues arise, please post to our forum or contact Netgate Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for professional support.

If you would like to discuss your needs or try a lab evaluation version of Netgate TNSR, please contact one of our authorized partners or our sales team.