Virtual Private Networks

You have your own business. Would you like to be able to walk over to your computer at home and work at it like you are sitting in your office 40 miles away?

Perhaps you have an employee whom you want to telecommute. You want to provide them with network access so that they can work from home like they are sitting in the office and have access to all of the files and printers in the office.

Or maybe you would like to have a camera set up that always provides you with a view of what is going on inside your home or office that you can access remotely over the Internet.

VPN, or "Virtual Private Networking" allows you to connect remotely from one location to another by using a private connection, or "tunnel," over the Internet. The communication between your home and office, or between your two offices, is encrypted and only you have access to both the network and the data. Because this type of connection uses broadband (such as DSL or a cable modem), the connection is very fast. There is very little if any lag time when remotely controlling a PC, and it is very easy to move and save files remotely.

A well-designed VPN can greatly benefit a company. For example, it can:

  • Extend geographic connectivity (eg: connection between branches via existing internet without addtional cost)
  • Improve security
  • Reduce operational costs versus traditional WAN
  • Reduce transit time and transportation costs for remote users
  • Improve productivity
  • Simplify network topology
  • Provide global networking opportunities

Site-to-Site VPN


Through the use of dedicated equipment and large-scale encryption, a company can connect multiple fixed sites over a public network such as the Internet. Site-to-site VPNs can be one of two types:
Intranet-based - If a company has one or more remote locations that they wish to join in a single private network, they can create an intranet VPN to connect LAN to LAN.

Extranet-based - When a company has a close relationship with another company (for example, a partner, supplier or customer), they can build an extranet VPN that connects LAN to LAN, and that allows all of the various companies to work in a shared environment.