The Other VPNs: It's Not All MPLS

VPN has been something of a buzzword for a while, and the buzz just keeps getting louder. Businesses want more VPNs for more flexible work arrangements as well as to replace expensive dedicated circuits. How you can create that flexibility and the limitations that may impact those anticipated cost savings are the subjects of this Study Guide. We'll talk about the basic technologies as well as how they are implemented. The earlier versions of VPNs are created at Layer 2, while more recent ones, including IPSec, are implemented at Layer 3. Both are useful; which type you want will depend on how much you need to protect information and at what cost.

Before beginning to understand VPNs, you must internalize, make part of your gut instincts, that almost everything in modern networking is a virtualization. Be sure to read the How to Study Virtual Private Networks Study Guide, which starts you down that path by outlining the steps involved in learning VPNs.

For additional VPN discussion, see also "L3 VPNs" Study Guide by Galina Pildush, which concentrates on Level 3 provider-provisioned VPNs (PPVPNs), in which Internet service provider (ISP) equipment is included in VPN creation and management.

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