Virtual Private Networks, Second Edition

Chapter 2. Basic VPN Technologies

This chapter focuses on the background technologies used to build a virtual private network. As we discussed in Chapter 1, there are two competing camps at work when we talk about connecting networks. The first camp places the highest worth on the accessibility of data anywhere the user might be, and anywhere the data might be. The second emphasizes that the protection of the data itself, the content, is most important and must be protected to prevent unauthorized persons from using it. As you can see, these two concepts are not at all mutually exclusive, but more of a yin-yang. As you focus on sharing more and more information so that everyone can get what they need, you must also remain focused on the security of that information so that others will not take advantage of you.

Because the Internet is a vast collection of resources, it is clear that sharing your information with other participants can help you prosper. It is not clear, however, at what risk you place yourself when you actually connect. It is our opinion that some companies see the Net as a huge untapped marketplace, full of consumers and advertising opportunities, but don’t realize that the Internet has its own version of an “underworld” as well. It is this, above all else, that compels us to protect our data, and where the emergence of the virtual private network presents itself is a stepping stone into the 21st century. The protection of private data is the core of the virtual ...