What are some of the characteristics of VPNs?

Answer 1

Provide a cost effective alternative to leased lines

Depend on the internet for communication

Allow user authentication and authorization

Integrate with many firewall technologies

Answer Explanation: Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are virtual protocol tunnels that are established through a physical public network such as the Internet. Even when the public network is not a secure medium for corporate data exchange, the virtual network tunnel provides secure communication by protecting the data-link layer protocol, generally IP, in an encapsulation protocol called VPN protocol: for example, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). Aside from its encapsulation function, the VPN protocol also provides authentication through the use of certificates or username/password credentials and supports a number of authorization protocols.

VPN is a very popular alternative for corporations that need to provide network resources to mobile employees or to remote offices access users. The alternative would be to provide either straight access through the Internet, which is a high security risk, or leased line, which can be costly. Existing server and firewall equipment can usually be used to establish VPN connections since a range of network devices and operating systems support VPN technology.