Chapter 1. VPN—Virtual Private Network

This chapter will start with networking solutions that were used in the past for connecting several branches of a company. Technological advances, such as broadband Internet access, brought about new possibilities and new concepts for this issue, one of them being the Virtual Private Network (VPN). In this chapter, you will learn what the term VPN means, how it evolved during the last few decades, why it is a necessity for modern enterprises, and how typical VPNs work. Basic networking concepts are necessary to understand the variety of possibilities that VPNs offer.

Historical: In former times, information exchange between branches of a company was mainly done by mail, telephone, and later by fax. But today there are five main challenges for modern VPN solutions that are discussed in this chapter. The challenges faced by companies are as follows: