Originally forwarded from: "joey.wheel" <joeyt_private> http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/784/packet/july98/4.html Virtual Private Networks -- Build or Buy? Scores of network managers are faced with a daunting task: connect a growing number of geographically dispersed sites to their enterprise networks while working within a limited budget. To help them accomplish this task, a new breed of virtual private network (VPN) based on IP technology has recently emerged. Simply put, a VPN is a network that provides customer connectivity over a shared, public infrastructure -- such as the Internet -- with the same policies that the customers enjoy in their own private networks. VPNs are attractive to networking managers because they provide easy access to intranets, the in-house communication tools that companies are using increasingly to run their mission-critical applications. Because intranets are built on IP-based Web browsers, VPNs based on IP are required to extend their capabilities transparently, over wide-area links to remote offices, mobile workers, and telecommuters within a company, or to suppliers, business partners, and customers outside an organization. Managers are considering VPNs for other compelling reasons, too: reduced long-distance phone charges for remote access, lower operational and capital equipment costs, faster and easier connectivity, and simplified WAN administration. [snip...] -o- Subscribe: mail majordomot_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: New Dimensions International [www.newdimensions.net]
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