Protocols
This tutorial has the purpose of explaining what a VPN is in simple terms, as these principles - with a bit of technical knowledge - will allow you to create this king of network. We will detail the different tunnelling protocols as well as the encryption protocols that are used when creating secure VPN connections.
In this tutorial dedicated to VPN’s, we will explain in simple terms how a VPN functions and what protocols are used to secure its connection. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
A VPN is made from two private networks that are connected through a network that is judged unsecured. The network that is most often used to establish VPN’s is the Internet, as it does not cost a lot it is often used to transfer all sorts of files which in turn requires additional security for your transfers…
We therefore create a tunnel between the two networks that we want to be interconnected. To create this tunnel you will need to use a “tunnelling” protocol.
There is of course one system that is used more widely by companies then by home users, and it is rare that home users would require two different networks to be connected together in this way!
The fact that a VPN passes though a network that is considered unsecured requires you to implement a system so that your data can be safely guaranteed:
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Authentication: The network needs to be sure that the correct person or entity that is trying to establish the VPN is permitted.
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Integrity: The files are transmitted from one network to another, and therefore guarantees need to be made that no intermediate person has compromised your data during transmission.
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Security: The communication contents should not be accessible to people who try to intercept part of the transmission. The use of an encryption algorithm will therefore be necessary.
In this tutorial we will therefore be looking at the two main uses of VPN’s: Lan to Lan VPN (fixed tunnel) and the RoadWarrior VPN (a remote person connecting from a different internet connection each time). We will also review the three tunnelling protocols most widely used today, PPTP, L2TP and IPSec.
It is important to understand that an IP network is made up of different layers (OSI model), with each layer calling on the others to be able to transmit data. We will also be talking about encapsulation, and the TCP/IP stack. It will be necessary for you to know what these are in order to be able to understand how protocols function when compared to each other.
Once a Request For Comment has been made, an RFC document will be issued to a workgroup. This is a complete document that details all of the protocols that have been created, the details of who created them and the company that created them.
Understanding everything about VPN’s is certainly not an easy thing, with the purpose of this tutorial not to go into the technical details but to explain in as simple way possible how a VPN functions. Links to external documentation will be provided for more detailed explanations, and this will help beginners in their global understanding and experts with more in depth details.
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