Mendix accelerates application development and provides rich functionality for operations and security. Mendix Public Cloud does not support VPN-based private networking because VPNs are more pain than they are worth. This is why Mendix and NetFoundry have partnered to give Mendix customers a private networking option which is simple and software-only.
Mendix customers can now add private networking directly into their Mendix-powered software to secure interactions between Mendix applications and resources such as databases, APIs, or third-party services (instead of the public network options to secure outgoing connections). The private connectivity includes built-in authentication, authorization, mTLS, E2E encryption, MFA and posture. This is available today and in addition the private connectivity solution will be turned into a Mendix-supported module in the Mendix marketplace, allowing developers to incorporate secure, invisible connections with minimal hand-coding, leveraging visual modelling and a robust set of tools.
For now, the Mendix developer adds NetFoundry code to their Mendix application (example below), and that code controls the private networking, with all the functionality provided as turnkey SaaS. The Mendix customer gets a private network connection, embedded into the app, without managing a private network.
This makes it simpler and quicker for Mendix customers to connect with the Mendix cloud – enterprises no longer need to open up ports, whitelist IP addresses, or deal with proxies and certificates:
Topic | Before NetFoundry | After NetFoundry |
|---|---|---|
Private Connections | Not available | Turnkey SaaS |
Enterprise WAN Integration | Firewall ACL management | No firewall ACL management |
Security and Compliance | Public connections | mTLS, E2E encryption, posture, least privileged access, telemetry, audit logs |
Quality and Reliability | Internet-dependent | Dynamic latency optimization, load balancing, and HA |
Enterprise Network Exposure | Enterprise DC & cloud firewalls are open | No open inbound firewall ports |
If you want to learn more, get a demo or spin up your own sandbox for free, please contact NetFoundry. The following section shows a working example.
How NetFoundry Enables Mendix Low-Code Developers to Embed Simple, Private Connectivity as Software
Using the NetFoundry SDKs, Mendix developers can establish private connections for any protocol to ensure support for any use case. Our example connects the Mendix application to a database in the enterprise cloud or private data center, using the NetFoundry Java SDK and our ZDBC driver, which apps use to access databases and other sensitive resources without exposing network endpoints. The result is simple, private connectivity from the Mendix Cloud to anywhere, without any inbound ports, complex firewall rules, public DNS, and more:
After exporting the project to Eclipse:
- Add the NetFoundry Java SDK library to “userlib” (“ziti-x.x.x-full.jar”).
- Then add this code:
And just like that, a secure connection to our database, no open ports, no client installed, easy low-code zero trust connectivity.
Building a Secure, Scalable Future for Mendix and Low-Code Applications
Mendix and NetFoundry made private connectivity for low-code apps simple and powerful. If you would like to learn more, get a demo or spin up your own connection for free then please contact us anytime.
