You've heard the phrase used in whispers between meetings and conversations during lunch: Virtual Private Network (VPN). But what exactly are VPNs, and why do people think they are better than, well, sliced bread?
Defined very simply, a Virtual Private Network allows systems to connect to each other through a public network (such as the Internet) over a secure, reliable, and controllable connection. The idea is to connect a number of systems, whether it is two or twenty or more, over a large public network, so that these systems act like they are on their very own small, private network sitting in a building somewhere.
Who would want to use a VPN? Some of the more common uses include:
- Providing a way for employees to connect to company networks from home or on the road.
- Allowing independent contractors or vendors to securely have access to the network of the organization they work with.
- Linking separate divisions or offices within the same organization with each other, whether they are in the same building, across town, across the country, or across the planet.
Traditionally, these kinds of connections have been created with remote telecommunications connections: employees, distant offices, and contractors connect to the organization's networks via a dial-up connection. This approach to external network access isn't optimal because the organization must not only pay the per-minute connect charge and any long-distance fees for the dial-up connection, but also the high cost of maintenance and management of the equipment necessary to provide dial-up access to those who need it.
So, what are the benefits of using a VPN as opposed to traditional dial-up access? VPNs help organization eliminate per-minute and long-distance fees by allowing users to place a single local phone call to an Internet service provider. In addition, if users already have high-speed Internet access (cable or DSL for example), even a phone call to a local ISP would not be necessary. By using a VPN to provide secure remote access via the Internet, organizations can take advantage of local Internet connections to provide global access to a network.
Since VPNs are often deployed over the most popular public network in existence at the moment, the Internet, security is a key concern. Using an assortment of methods (particular to the operating systems and network configurations in play in an organization), a VPN is able to make sure that data being sent arrives unaltered, that nobody outside of the sender and receiver can see the data being sent, and that the sender and receiver really are who they say they are. Overall, VPNs offer security guarantees that the Internet alone is unable to provide that in most cases exceed the security of traditional dial-up access.
As most VPN solutions are designed to be integrated with existing network infrastructures, they are designed for easy installation and management, and do not present a sharp learning curve for administrators. A number of VPN solutions are available, in both the commercial and open-source realms, for a number of platforms, whether you are using Unix, Windows, or Mac machines, or even a mixture of them all. For more information
- Learn more about using Virtual Private Networks with Microsoft Windows.
- The International Engineering Consortium offers a tutorial that providers an in-depth description of VPNs.
- Find VPN is a good resource for information about VPNs for all platforms and all business sizes.
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