Home  Virtual Private Networks
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Virtual Private Networks |
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A virtual private network (VPN) is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network. A virtual private network can be contrasted with an expensive system of owned or leased lines that can only be used by one organization. The goal of a VPN is to provide the organization with the same capabilities, but at a much lower cost. A VPN works by using the shared public infrastructure while maintaining privacy through security procedures and tunneling protocols such as the Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP). In effect, the protocols, by encrypting data at the sending end and decrypting it at the receiving end, send the data through a "tunnel" that cannot be "entered" by data that is not properly encrypted. An additional level of security involves encrypting not only the data, but also the originating and receiving network addresses By using the same Internet Service Provider (ISP) for each tunnel end point, VPN performance is typically the same as private MPLS services offered by a number of ISP's and Dealership Management Systems vendors, but at a fraction of the price. Ongoing ISP costs for VPN's start from as little as $150 per month with 10GB of data included, at speeds of 512KB to 2048KB. Typical MPLS circuits can cost up to eight times this amount.
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