Implementing Cisco Networking Solutions

Understanding and Configuring WAN Technologies

"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."

- Charles Eames

Organizations have a Local Area Network (LAN) at each office. These networks need to be connected to each other to form a single network where every endpoint on the network can communicate with every other endpoint, irrespective of the physical location, within the confines of the security policy of the organization. These LANs are connected by wide area links, and are known as Wide Area Networks (WANs).

This chapter will discuss the following topics:

• Different types of WAN technologies
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
• The internet as the WAN
• Design considerations ...