NETWORKING =FRIENDSHIP OF COMPUTERS. Review on Tips on Networking on Computers

You have been thinking about Networking your computers for some time now, but you just don't know what to do first.

Maybe your network started out with a couple of computers and a printer, but now they are no longer meeting the demands of your business.  Or maybe you added one piece of equipment at a time and ended up with a closet full of wires that no one in your office really understands.  Perhaps it is just time to move up to a system that can keep up with the demands of your business.

Introduction

Virtual Private Networks(VPNs) offer the capability of interconnecting private network resources, such as workstation and servers, over public networks like the Internet. As with any network deployment, careful planning must precede any VPN implementation. Specifically, this plan must address questions related to connectivity and security.  This article covers the concept of VPN networks.

Planning a VPN

Some implementations will require little or no modification to an existing network, while others will require careful coordination with existing routers, firewalls, network address translators, and other networking equipment.

Network Connectivity

The main purposes of a VPN are to provide connectivity to a corporate network consisting of several geographically distinct corporate offices, and to provide access to traveling employees or telecommuters. A corporate office generally consists of a set of workstations that are interconnected with a LAN(local area network) and share a common link to a public network such as the Internet.  Workstations in a corporate office often have fixed IP addresses or use dynamic addresses in a limited, pre-defined range. Telecommuters and traveling employees typically use single workstations(desktop or laptop computers) with dial-up connections to a public network. Workstations for telecommuters and traveling employees often have dynamically assigned IP addresses over a wide, unknown range.

Building Virtual Private Networks

One major aspect of planning a VPN is to determine the connectivity requirements between corporate offices, telecommuters, and traveling employees.  A VPN that allows any network resource in the branch office to communicate with any network resource in the corporate headquarters can be established; or, a VPN can be very explicit, allowing an individual network resource in the branch office to connect to only one or two network resources at the corporate headquarters.  Determining which network resources should be linked via a VPN depends on the applications used on the various systems.

VPNs are typically platform independent. This means that systems running different operating systems can share a common router for Internet connectivity, and workstations running multiple operating systems can be interconnected using VPNs.  Any computer system that is configured to run on an IP network can be incorporated into VPN with no modifications required!

Conclusion

Integrating VPNs into a corporate network should follow a similar process to deploying any other network device. CEO’s careful planning before installing and configuring equipment is important to achieve a successful deployment. Our planning includes consideration of which networks and/or clients require connections through a VPN, and what other security and networking functions are operating in conjunction with VPN services.