Virtual Private Networking was once the preserve of large organisations and was a costly process involving the installation of point-to-point connections between locations. The VPN facilities of hardware firewalls now offer any organisation with multiple offices and/or remote workers a cost effective solution to securely interconnect to each other over the public Internet.

A branch-to-branch VPN allows organisations to interconnect their offices securely using 168-bit encryption algorithms, which is currently the highest level of encryption available. Applications and data can be readily shared throughout the VPN network if desired. For example, you could have the accounts departments of each branch connected to each other or each department could be connected to a central point.

There are two main types of VPN networks. The first is a Mesh Network, whereby all sites are connected to each other. An advantage of such a network would be that no branch is reliant upon a single connection. The second type is a Hub'n'Spoke Network. In this configuration all branches are connected to a single site i.e. Headquarters which dictates the access rules of the VPN to the other branches. A typical application would be to implement a Terminal Services solution using the HQ as the gateway for the branch sites.

This form of VPN connectivity is ideal for those who spend time away from the office and wish to work remotely. Typically a worker with a laptop computer and modem would be able to connect to the office using 'VPN Client' software. User's can be authenticated for extra security, and subjected to office firewall rules, preventing any misuse of the system.


VPN Facts

• When using a VPN solution between two sites, you are effectively on the same network even though you could be based in different geographical locations.
  
  
• Employees at a remote site can work on network servers based at HQ. For example an employee at the branch office may retrieve his/her email from the Microsoft Exchange Server located at the HQ office.
  
  
• Triple DES (3DES) encryption algorithm is unbreakable today, and the widest used algorithm for strong encryption.