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Cisco ACE XML Gateway Migration Guide

A STEP-BY-STEP METHODOLOGY FOR SEAMLESS CISCO AXG REPLACEMENT
On August 1, 2010, Cisco announced the end-of-sale and end-of-life dates for the ACE XML Gateway (AXG). As of January 30, 2011, AXG is no longer for sale. After January 30, 2012, Cisco will not supply maintenance releases or bug fixes for this product. Layer 7’s SecureSpan family of XML gateways provides a proven migration path for existing AXG users.

Layer 7’s Cisco AXG Migration Guide is a step-by-step methodology designed to ease and speed migration from the Cisco ACE XML Gateway to SecureSpan. As SecureSpan is the preferred AXG migration target, this methodology offers the ideal solution for organizations that need to migrate their AXG assets quickly and seamlessly.

A key component of the Migration Guide is the Layer 7 AXG Migration Utility, a policy-based utility able to interpret an AXG export file and automatically populate the SecureSpan appliance (or virtual appliance) with corresponding proxies and policies. The Migration Guide provides a framework for ensuring maximum value from the Migration Utility.

For more information, please contact Layer 7’s Professional Services Team or:

AXG MIGRATION UTILITY VIDEO TUTORIAL

 

AXG MIGRATION GUIDE SUMMARY

Chapter 1: Introduction
The Layer 7 solution enables AXG users to:

  • Choose the form factor that is best suited to their deployment environments (hardware appliance, software, virtualized appliance)
  • Quickly create and more easily maintain their new policies using the SecureSpan Policy Manager’s drag-and-drop editor
  • Migrate policies according to their own project schedules by deploying SecureSpan alongside existing Cisco gateways

Chapter 2: Mapping AXG Handlers, Routes & Service Descriptors
This chapter explains how AXG concepts like virtual service, handler and service descriptors map to the Layer 7 solution. It provides full explanations of the two fundamental gateway equivalents in the Layer 7 system:

  • Published services
  • Policies

Chapter 3: Identity & Access Control
This chapter describes how the Layer 7 gateway can be used to control access to services based on the requestor’s identity, using:

  • The built-in Internal Identity Provider
  • The Layer 7 Policy Manager
  • Custom plug-in modules

Chapter 4: Using the Layer 7 Cisco AXG Migration Utility
This chapter discusses the Cisco AXG Migration Utility, which can automate migration of Cisco AXG configurations to the Layer 7 gateway. The Migration Utility:

  • Can be customized to meet a broad range of customer needs
  • Is deployed as a service on the gateway, with a migration policy imported to the service
  • Can be run either from a Web browser or a command line

Chapter 5: Migration Methodology
This chapter provides a suggested methodology that can be used as a starting point for AXG-to-Layer 7 migration. In practice, the Layer 7 solution can be customized to address:

  • The specific details of the current AXG deployment
  • New use cases moving forward
  • Additional components that interact with the gateway

To learn more, please download the full Migration Guide.