Corporate connections simplified with the five-minute extranet.

Link your partners and remote offices with new VPN technology.

With customers expecting nothing less than a totally integrated experience when interacting with companies, linking remote offices, partners and employees into a seamless corporate network is more critical than ever. New virtual private network (VPN) technologies quickly provide secure connectivity easily over the public Internet. To be successful today requires that enterprises respond in "click-time"--and that new extranets can be built, or partners added to the network, or remote offices linked in a matter of minutes or hours, not weeks or months.

A competitive second-generation e-business is built on the premise that the business model, partners and geographic locations it encompasses will change continually; thus, it needs an adaptable, virtual network infrastructure to support it. To meet increasingly important needs for adaptability, efficiency and timeliness, enterprises must create a logical business network that enables users to share network resources and access company applications, regardless of where they are geographically (or, in the case of extranets, regardless of whether the users are employees or not).

Until recently, most corporations lacked the technical skill or financial resources required to build a wide area network (WAN). Most organizations that wanted to link remote offices muddled through with limited bandwidth, high prices and difficult technical requirements.

In addition, the traditional solutions characteristically require significant setup time, with requirements running from 30 to 90 days, ineffective for today's instant-on requirements. Traditional and slow approaches include point-to-point leased lines, packet-switched networks and dedicated VPNs.

A PERFECT COMBINATION

VPNs provide secure private connections over the Internet by enabling authentication of individuals and locations, delivering secure and private tunnels between individuals or locations, and encryption of data being sent. To make sending private data securely over the Net feasible, VPNs usually include these capabilities:

* Firewall. Protects the edge of the corporate network, between the WAN and LAN. The most effective firewall would be configured to permit or deny any specified type of traffic, and would keep a log of any unauthorized attempts to enter the network.

* Authentication. Ensures that those connecting to the corporate network are authorized. The strongest means for authentication, such as digital certificates, will verify the identity of both users and systems, and identify both ends of the connection to each other.

* Tunneling. The integrity and security of the original data packet is protected by placing it inside another packet for transmission (encapsulation).

* Encryption. Data is scrambled with a random code called a key. A key is assigned to a string of data until that key is changed. The length of the key and frequency of key changes determines how secure the data is.

* Routing. Essential to networking in general and necessary to ensure that data gets from specified point A to specified point B.

VPNs and Internet-based connectivity, however, have continued to remain expensive. Even prepackaged VPN solutions have required expensive networking personnel to configure, install and manage. Installation often requires support at the remote locations, dictating either extensive travel requirements for the home office personnel or the training and/or hiring of remote IT support staff.

THE NEW EXTRANET SOLUTIONS

A new breed of open-source services-oriented VPN technologies typically offers a mixture of software and services. These second-generation VPN solutions instantly connect remote partners or locations without lengthy configuration and setup requirements. Here is what to look for:

* No upfront investment. Look for products that have limited or no initial investment.

* ISP openness. Doing business with all types of companies nation- or worldwide requires a solution that works with any ISP.

* Limited technical requirements. Look for VPN connectivity solutions (normally services) that work automatically and intuitively, with no additional technical training required.

* Software solutions. Since a secure connection needs to be set up in hours, look for a software-based solution, preferably one where the required software can be instantly downloaded via any Web browser.

VPN software usually self-configures on any standard PC to quickly create a true WAN. Configuration requires pointing and clicking or adding members to a partner list, making building a true e-business network feasible and safe for small to midsize businesses. Companies can now set up secure private connections in hours, rather than days.

All types of businesses, even ones with a limited number of locations, will find themselves required to build extranets or provide secure network connectivity to partners, suppliers, customers or remote employees. The new VPN solutions can be deployed rapidly with little or no upfront investment, allowing companies to rapidly build extranets and add partner connectivity with little or no risk.

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