Well..VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
It is an encrypted connection between private networks over a public network such as the internet.
Basically its like a condo in Singapore, it is scalable (can be big or small) and there are security features installed within it as well as only people with the proper authorization and credentials can enter.
Here is a little image which hopefully can help in your understanding of VPN.
There are two types of VPN that's gonna appear in this post: Site-to-Site VPN and Remote VPN (as can be seen from the title).
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Site-to-Site VPN is simply an extension of the classic WAN (Wide Area Network). There are about 4 ways which this can be done. Again another image...
Note that its called Site-to-Site VPN, not Side-to-Side.
Just for convenience sake, Site-to-Site VPN shall now be called S2S VPN.
Now, a S2S VPN allows offices in multiple fixed locations secure connections with each other over a public network like the Internet. S2S VPN extends the company's network, making all the resources from all offices available to each other. One example using a S2S VPN would be a huge massive company that has multiple branches either worldwide or across the country.
From the S2S VPN, there are again another 2 different types of the S2S VPN.
Intranet-based: Multiple remote networks connecting together via intranet VPN so that each LAN joins a single WAN.
Extranet-based: For this case, a extranet VPN connects 2 or more different companies (partner, client, supplier, etc) together. The created extranet would connect all the different LANS together, allowing them to work in a secure shared network environment while preventing access to their separate intranets. Its like buying a house together, both have access to that shared house but not to each other's own personal ones.
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There is the other kind of VPN, its called the Remote VPN. It allows INDIVIDUAL USERS to establish secure connections with a remote computer network. These users would be able to access the network's resources as if the computer was plugged directly into the network's servers. An example would be Temasek Polytechnic (TP), they are getting their students to use VPN (at home, at library, in the toilet, etc) to connect to TP's resources as if the students were using the school's computers.
Now..apparently there are 2 components needed for a Remote VPN. One is a Network Access Server (NAS), A.K.A. Media Gateway A.K.A. Remote-Access Server (RAS).
Why so many names??!! Well..because NAS can also mean Network-Attached Storage (Which I might add..has a totally different purpose that the thing stated above.) OKAY, GOING BACK!
This RAS can either be a dedicated server or a multiple software application running on a shared server. The user/client would need to connect to this RAS from the Internet in order to use the VPN. As mentioned before, the user would need to input his/her credentials to login to the VPN. The VPN would use some authentication process or a authentication server running on the network to authenticate the user's credentials.
There are 2 things needed for the Remote VPN, so here's the other..client software. The user that wants to login to his/her VPN would require his machine to have some sort of application or software that have the capabilities to establish and maintain a connection to that VPN. Nowadays most Operating Systems have their own built-in software already to connect to Remote VPNs, but there are some VPNs which require their users to install a specific application just for their own security sake or possibly other reasons entirely.
How this be working then???
The software sets up a tunneled connection to the RAS; the user has to specify through its Internet address. The software also handles the encryption required to keep the connection all secure and hushhush.
For large corporations or business with awesome IT staff normally purchase, deploy and maintain their own Remote VPNs (just because they can and its safer this way). Of course..if the company has the money, they can outsource their Remote VPN services through an Enterprise Service Provider (ESP). The ESP sets up a RAS for the paying company and keeps that RAS all working just fine. But, to leave a secure connection in the hands of another organisation..food for thought eh?
That's all I have time for. See ya around!
GOOD LUCK FOR ALL FORMS OF TERM TESTS, EXAMINATIONS AND ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS. SPEND THEM WELL, for there'll be reports and projects that won't be doing itself...
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