A Technical Guide to IPSec Virtual Private Networks

Introduction

VPNs have become analogous with the Internet. The ability to leverage a vast, global network to facilitate proprietary communications, and do it cheaply, has been the Internet’s version of the search for the holy grail. Now, that distant, much anticipated capability has come within easy reach. Virtual private network (VPN) has become one of the most recognized terms in our industry, yet there continuously seem to be different impressions of what VPNs really are and can become. The concept is relatively simple: get data from point A to Z in a manner that is not necessarily native to the originating technology. The complicated part is B through Y.

It is unfortunate that the term has been so badly overloaded, but that is also a reflection ...