VPN Network
solution (Virtual Private Connectivity) for your company
Anchor Pharmacies'
search for a manageable, low cost way to link its stores together led it to
VPN network service, one of the hottest twists on Virtual Private connectivity.
The company's expansion strategy was to acquire financially strapped independent
drugstores and restore their profitability by cutting costs through the efficiencies
of central management. But secure connectivity or the lack of it. VPN network
service lets clients open secure tunnels across the Internet by connecting through
a host's data center where the Virtual Private equipment and the staff to service
it actually resides.
They're easier
to deploy and maintain, VPN network service in particular is beginning to eclipse
do-it-yourself solutions. In its 2000 WAN Manager Survey, IDC reported that
companies are opting for Virtual Private service more often than in-house installations.
A Virtual Private is a network that communicates securely over a public network (i.e. the internet). It is protected through the use of encryption. VPN Network clients authenticate users, encrypt data, and otherwise manage sessions with its servers utilizing a technique called tunneling.
VPN network service
has changed the equation so radically. Until Virtual Private Service debuted
last year, only two managed options were available, and both were pricey. Customer
premises equipment (CPE) programs, in which an outside provider installs, maintains,
and trouble- shoots equipment on a company's own premises, require service contracts
that cover the cost of troubleshooting on-site. Internet Protocol (IP) over
frame relay is a high-end service provided by carriers in which tunnels are
opened through central data centers where the equipment is hosted and maintained.