Networking All-in-One For Dummies, 7th Edition

Chapter 6

Virtual Private Networks

IN THIS CHAPTER

Examining VPN uses

Looking at how VPN works

Considering VPN clients and servers

Pondering VPN hardware and software

Today’s network users frequently need to access their networks from remote locations: home offices, hotel rooms, beach villas, and their kid’s soccer fields. In the early days of computer networking, the only real option for remotely accessing a network was to set up dialup access with telephone lines and modems, which was slow and unreliable. Today, enabling remote access to a local area network (LAN) is easily done with a virtual private network. Simply put, a virtual private network (VPN) enables remote users to access a LAN via any Internet connection.

This chapter is a short introduction to VPNs. You find out the basics of what a VPN is, how to set one up, and how to access one remotely. Enjoy!

Understanding VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a type of network connection that creates the illusion that you’re directly connected to a network when in fact, you’re not. For example, suppose you set up a LAN at ...