Vpn Essay, Research Paper
A company must evaluate a variety of things when making networking
decisions, especially when embarking on an expansion that would include
a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with remote access. Today, VPN is quite
popular but any business owner must understand that the type of product
is still relatively new and so he or she must make sound business
decisions and evaluate a variety of factors. Cost, potential downtime,
training of personnel, security issues and a host of other things must
be evaluated when deciding to implement a new system.
VPN is expected to become very important in a variety of ways for
companies that want to keep costs low while maintaining contact with
customers and staff (Raphael, 1998). Although many have the impression
that VPN is a private network, it is actually managed by a global
alliance (1998). What is a VPN or Virtual Private Network exactly?
A VPN is a way to allow access to a private network’s e-mail, shared
files, and Intranet, through the use of an Internet connection
(Cohen, 1998). VPNs allow remote users to dial into a local Internet
Service Provider (ISP) as opposed to making a long-distance call in
order to connect to a remote access server anywhere in the world
(1998). In other words, one of the fringe benefits of utilizing the
Internet to dial into a company’s personal network is that there are
no long distance phone charges. While a telephone bill may seem to
be a minor expense, when many employees access an 800 number, the
cost can be exorbitant. Of course, with the cost advantage there is
a price in terms of security. The network is online and so is
vulnerable to hackers. While VPNs may be more vulnerable to security
breaks, which will be discussed in depth later, that does not mean
there is no security at all. Of course, passwords and encryption are
all a part of creating a viable VPN for a company or department.
B VPN is relatively new, it makes sense to look at what is currently
available in order to make sound decisions. It has been noted that
VPN can save companies money and can be a cost-cutting alternative
for remote access or site-to-site connectivity (Moore, 2000).Cisco
is an industry leader and recently has introduced remote-access
equipment to their existing line of VPN products (2000). Part of the
new inclusions are related to its acquisition of Altiga (2000). Jim
Slaby, an industry analyst, made the following comment: “Cisco’s
willingness to buy Altiga is validation for those timid IT managers
who didn’t think VPN was ready for prime time ” (2000, p. PG). He
elaborated by explaining the concern of IT managers as they feared
that VPN would not work well, would not be secure enough and they
did not really believe that they would save money while enjoying the
advantages of a remote system (2000). The reason why companies do
save money with a VPN, as noted before, is because of the savings in
telephone charges(Cohen, 1998). VPNs also require less hardware than
other alternatives (1998). Finally, Slaby explains that Cisco’s new
arrivals do quell some of those fears (Moore, 2000). Yes, it appears
that the implementation of a VPN is generally a good idea and can
probably fit any corporate budget and with new technology, they seem
to be safer than ever.