Virtual Private Networks:

Virtual private networks (VPN) provide an encrypted connection between a user's distributed sites over the Internet i.e a private network built atop the internet. The basic idea is to provide an encrypted IP tunnel through the Internet that permits distributed sites to communicate securely. The encrypted tunnel provides a secure path for network applications and requires no changes to the application.

Advantages:

VPNs allow us to quickly and inexpensively offer:

• Intranet access to select Communities of interest within our own companies, &
• Extranet access to trading partners, vendors, and other organizations with which we have a business relationship.

VPNs allow us to make more cost-effective use of scarce and expensive enterprise resources by partitioning access logically instead of physically. These advances have made secure and a cost-effective way to do business. VPNs offer us flexibility to rapidly respond to organizational and market changes.