Book Image

OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks

Book Image

OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks

Overview of this book

OpenVPN is a powerful, open source SSL VPN application. It can secure site-to-site connections, WiFi and enterprise-scale remote connections. While being a full-featured VPN solution, OpenVPN is easy to use and does not suffer from the complexity that characterizes other IPSec VPN implementations. It uses the secure and stable TLS/SSL mechanisms for authentication and encryption. This book is an easy introduction to this popular VPN application. After introducing the basics of security and VPN, the book moves on to cover using OpenVPN, from installing it on various platforms, through configuring basic tunnels, to more advanced features, such as using the application with firewalls, routers, proxy servers, and OpenVPN scripting. While providing only necessary theoretical background, the book takes a practical approach, presenting plenty of examples.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
OpenVPN
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Preface
Index

Advantages of OpenVPN


With OpenVPN, a new generation VPN entered the scene. While other VPN solutions often use proprietary or non-standard mechanisms, OpenVPN has a modular concept both for underlying security and networking. OpenVPN uses the secure, stable, and lauded SSL/TLS mechanisms for authentication and encryption, and does not suffer from the complexity that characterizes other VPN implementations like market leader IPsec. At the same time, it offers possibilities that go beyond every other VPN implementation's scope:

  • Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN: OpenVPN offers two basic modes, which run either as Layer 2 or Layer 3 VPN. Thus OpenVPN tunnels can also transport Ethernet Frames, IPX packets, and Windows Network Browsing packets (NETBIOS), all of which are problems in most other VPN solutions.

  • Protecting field workers with the internal firewall: A field worker connected to the central branch of his or her company with a VPN tunnel can change the network setup on his or her laptop, so that...