VPNs are rapidly becoming the networking technology of choice for companies that want to link their locations, customers, and/or suppliers cost-effectively. This hands-on, "in-the-trenches" guidebook cuts through the VPN hype, helping any network professional build, secure, and manage a VPN successfully. The book covers both business and technical aspects of VPN consideration, planning, design, implementation, and ongoing management. Discover what VPNs are and how they work; make the business case for building a VPN; and determine whether to build it yourself or outsource it to an Internet service provider. Compare VPN deployment models; understand the L2TP tunneling protocol; learn your options for providing consistent Quality of Service and service-level guarantees; and more. The book also contains six detailed case studies; a full chapter on service provider VPN offerings; and a preview of the future of VPNs.
Bruce Perlmutter is Senior Engineer at Nortel Networks in Billerica, MA, where he designs and builds VPN products for Nortel. Jonathan L. Zarkower is Product Manager at Nortel Networks in Billerica, MA