VPN allows you to extend your internal private network across a public network such as the Internet. VPN clients outside the company can access resources inside your company as if they were located inside the company. There are two general VPN types: remote access (client-to-site), which allows your road warriors to connect to your internal network while traveling on the road, and the site-to-site type, which is used to connect geographically-distributed branches of your organization. Any PC inside the branch office can connect to any resource located inside the main branch and vice versa with no connection required on the client side. The connections and configurations are done on the gateways of each branch.

A VPN provides a secure connection between the endpoints as it provides authentication, data integrity, and confidentiality. These terms are explained as follows: