A virtual private network (VPN) is a network which uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization’s network. With a purpose to provide the organization with the same capabilities, but at a much lower cost, VPN works by using the shared public infrastructure while maintaining privacy through security procedures and tunnelling protocols such as the Layer Two Tunnelling Protocol (L2TP).
It provides complete wireless local area networking, which in other cases costs at least a hundred times more than this one.
VPN replaces the traditionally used T1 lines which are used to assure secured connectivity between the different offices of the same organisation at different locations.
The organisations can have much cheaper local leased lines with the help of VPN to continue working on their already established communication channels.
Business travellers who want frequent access to their organisation intranet can also use VPN to do the same.
The maintenance cost of servers is least in case of VPN, as there is always a third party to do all that for them in lieu of a specified amount a their fee or charges for rendering their services.
Installation Process in Windows XP:
1.Open the Windows Control Panel.
2.Open the Network Connections item in Control Panel. A list of existing dial-up and LAN connections will appear
3.Choose the ‘Create a new connection’ item from the left-hand side of the window. The Windows XP New Connection Wizard will appear on the screen
4.Click next to begin the wizard, then choose the ‘Connect to the network at my workplace’ item from the list and click Next.
5.On the Network Connection page of the wizard, choose the ‘Virtual Private Network connection’ option and click Next.
6.Enter a name for the new VPN connection in the ‘Company Name’ field and click Next. The name chosen need not match the name of an actual business.
7.Choose an option on the ‘Public Network‘ screen and click Next
8.Enter the name or IP address of the VPN remote access server to connect to, and click Next. Company network administrators will provide this information.
9.Choose an option on the “Connection Availability” screen and click Next. The default option, ‘My Use Only,’ ensures that Windows will make this new connection available only to the currently logged on user. Otherwise, choose the ‘Anyone’s use’ option.
10.Click Finish to complete the wizard. The new VPN connection information has been saved
