VPN Technologies

Depending on the type of VPN (remote-access or site-to-site), certain components will need to be put in place to build the VPN. These might include:

•  Desktop software client for each remote user
•  Dedicated hardware such as a VPN concentrator or secure PIX firewall
•  Dedicated VPN server for dial-up services
•  NAS (network access server) used by service provider for remote-user VPN access
•  VPN network and policy-management center

Because there is no widely accepted standard for implementing a VPN, many companies have developed turn-key solutions on their own.