Network Places provide remote users with a secure web interface to access the corporate network file shares. With appropriate permissions, users can browse network shares, rename, delete, retrieve and upload files just as if they were connected in the office. In addition, Network Places also provide support for Web Folders and the Windows Explorer Drive Mapping feature. The Barracuda SSL VPN supports the following network file systems:
- SMB (Windows file shares using the SMB1 protocol)
- FTP
- SFTP
Web Folders
Web Folders use a direct WebDAV connection. Remote users can access the organization’s network through the standard Windows Explorer interface without actually needing to log into the Barracuda SSL VPN. Once configured, they can access the share by clicking an icon and entering their Windows credentials.
Configured Web Folders must go through the Barracuda SSL VPN server so that the share can be seen by the client operating system. For security reasons, the Barracuda SSL VPN only allows Web Folders that are mapped to existing Network Places. This enforces policy restrictions; if a user does not have a policy which allows them to access a given network place then they will also be unable to map a Web Folder to it.
Windows Explorer Drive Mapping
The Windows Explorer Drive Mapping feature allows you to create a Network Place and assign it a drive letter for clients running Microsoft Windows. When the Barracuda SSL VPN Agent is running on the client system, the drive becomes available in the Windows Explorer just like any local drive. This feature uses a WebDAV connection to a locally created SSL tunnel that gets routed through to the server.