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Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a private communications network often used by companies or organizations, to communicate confidentially over a public network.
VPN traffic can be carried over a public networking infrastructure (e.g. the Internet) on top of standard protocols, or over a service provider's private network with a defined Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the VPN customer and the VPN service provider. A VPN can send data e.g. voice, data or video, or a combination of these media, across secured and encrypted private channels between two points.
Virtual private networks can be a cost-effective and secure way for different corporations to provide users access to the corporate network and for remote networks to communicate with each other across the Internet. VPN connections are more cost-effective than dedicated private lines; usually a VPN involves two parts: the protected or "inside" network, which provides physical and administrative security to protect the transmission; and a less trustworthy, "outside" network or segment (usually through the Internet). Generally, a firewall sits between a remote user's workstation or client and the host network or server. As the user's client establishes the communication with the firewall, the client may pass authentication data to an authentication service inside the perimeter. A known trusted person, sometimes only when using trusted devices, can be provided with appropriate security privileges to access resources not available to general users.
VPN Application