VPN Security

Network security is a concern for most organizations, and two protocols that Windows 2000 networks use to ensure secure communications across the Internet are the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and the L2TP, which is used in conjunction with Internet Protocol security (IPSec). Microsoft TCP/IP, PPTP, and L2TP/IPSec provide the highest levels of security, protecting paths between hosts and gateways.

Benefits of Virtual Private Networking

The following list contains reasons why it is beneficial to use VPN connections instead of long distance direct-dial connections.

Reduced Cost Overhead   One of the major concerns of a large organization is cost overhead, and phone costs are one of the largest expenses a company has. Using the Internet as a connection medium instead of a long distance telephone service saves the company phone expenses and requires less hardware. For example, the client only needs to call the local ISP, then, L2TP and IPSec allow users to obtain secure connections to Internet-attached Windows 2000 VPN servers running Routing and Remote Access service.

Reduced Management Overhead   Because the local phone company owns and manages the phone lines that support your VPN connections, there is less management for network administrators.

Added Security   Windows 2000 uses standard, interoperable authentication and encryption protocols that allow data to be hidden from the unsecured environment of the Internet, but remain accessible to corporate users through a VPN. Also, if the VPN tunnel is encrypted with IPSec, the Internet only sees the external IP addresses while the internal addresses are protected. In other words, it is extremely difficult for a hacker to interpret the data sent across a VPN tunnel.

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