Determining Business Requirements

Technology is a tool that can be used to help people achieve business goals; as such, specific technology selections should always be based on business requirements and not vice versa. It is critical to define what objectives an organization wishes to address and based on such requirements, select an appropriate technical tool. The case of SSL VPNs is no exception to this rule.

Remote Access Paradigms

Remote Access needs often encompass two major categories of communications—Site-to-Site and User-to-Site.

• Site-to-Site: Organizations with multiple locations often want to merge multiple remote networks into what appears to be one big network. Rather than paying for expensive private links between various sites, companies can use VPN technology to create secure communication channels over the Internet and thereby link their various offices together. VPN connectivity between the Local Area Networks at each location is often implemented by means of special software...