Web Security Distributed Enterprise Deployments

Applies to

Web Filter v7.6

Web Security v7.6

Web Security Gateway v7.6

Web Security Gateway Anywhere v7.6

Web Security distributed enterprise deployments

Distributed enterprise networks may have many remote locations, ranging from dozens to thousands of small sites. Typically, between 5 and 50 employees work at each remote site. Many of these sites have Internet access, but no dedicated IT staff.

Some organizations use a decentralized network topology that provides each remote site with its own Internet connection. The challenge is to apply consistent, cost-effective filtering of Internet requests across the entire organization.

Distributed enterprises with remote Internet connectivity have a complex set of filtering considerations:

Remote sites must have Internet access.

Internet access is provided by independent Internet service providers, often using low to medium-bandwidth connections.

Web page requests are sent directly to the Internet and are not first routed through a central corporate network.

Internet access must be filtered to permit only appropriate content.

Cost considerations prohibit deploying a dedicated filtering server at each site.

Given the relative low speed of each office's Internet connection, a slightly slower response from the filtering product is acceptable.

All remote sites can be filtered using the same policies.

Websense Web Filter, Web Security, and Web Security Gateway are on-premises solutions in which Websense filtering components can be deployed regionally and communicate over the Internet to apply uniform filtering policies across all offices.

Note  In this and related sections about Web Security, the information generally applies to Web Filter as well. For the purposes of these sections, Websense Web Security should be taken to refer to both solutions collectively, unless otherwise stated.

Websense Web Security Gateway Anywhere is a hybrid solution, allowing a combination of on-premises and in-the-cloud filtering. Additionally, off-site users outside the network of any site (such as telecommuters or traveling employees) can be filtered through the hybrid service.

See the following for more information:

Web Security basic distributed enterprise topology

Web Security filtering remote sites

Web Security distributed enterprise deployment models

Web Security distributed deployments and secure VPN connections