In most cases, a remote access VPN is used to give each location access to a data center. In many cases, big companies must send many terabytes of data between locations, quickly and safely, and the kind of VPN sufficient for a normal torrent user or web surfer would not be able to handle the workload.Ī remote access VPN refers to a temporary connection set up between two or more users and a central location. However, VPNs designed for one-or a few-users at a time do not have the capabilities to serve the needs of a large organization. These attributes made private VPNs a top choice among individual users. In addition, on a public network, you have to deal with a constant barrage of cyberattacks, but with a VPN, you can enjoy a more secure, encrypted connection. You can also gain access to geo-blocked content, regardless of your location. A hidden IP address gives you the freedom to download torrents without revealing who you are. The modern iteration of a VPN gained popularity because of people wanting to mask their IP addresses and surf the internet more safely. In this way, site-to-site networks predated the internet, forming the foundation for what we have today.

Before the internet was launched as we know it today, computers were connected between sites through a private network and TCP/IP. TCP/IP outlines how data is organized according to packets, given addresses, transmitted, and received across different computers on the internet.

They were first made possible through the use of the original packet switching network named Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), as well as the initial uses of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Site-to-site VPNs were a forbearer of what we now know as the internet. The history of site-to-site VPNs intersects, in many ways, with the history of the internet itself. A site-to-site VPN can, in that case, give all sites full access to the application-as if it were housed within their physical facility.

In some instances, a server may be the operational hub of an application essential to the company’s business. These businesses often have to access resources housed on a primary network, which could include servers that facilitate email or store data. Site-to-site VPNs are useful for companies that prioritize private, protected traffic and are particularly helpful for organizations with more than one office spread out over large geographical locations. This could be a corporate network where multiple offices work in conjunction with each other or a branch office network with a central office and multiple branch locations. A site-to-site virtual private network (VPN) refers to a connection set up between multiple networks.

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