{"id":5774,"date":"2020-10-15T22:47:55","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T20:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2020-10-15T22:47:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T20:47:56","slug":"glossary-of-the-vpn-terminology-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tekmart.co.za\/t-blog\/glossary-of-the-vpn-terminology-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Glossary of the VPN terminology you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time-approximately:<\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

For organizations with remote workforces, VPNs can be an essential part of daily life. This VPN glossary explores the essential terms and phrases that constitute VPN services.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Michaela<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Michaela Goss<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enterprises’ embrace of remote work accelerated due to COVID-19, and it likely won’t subside when the pandemic is a distant memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A staple of remote work is the VPN. With a VPN, organizations can provide their\u00a0remote employees\u00a0with secure network connectivity nearly indistinguishable from standard office connectivity. VPNs support full-time remote employees, employees who occasionally work from home and temporarily long-term remote employees. Yet, as with\u00a0other network security concepts, VPN terminology can be difficult to understand. From encryption to protocols to tunneling, each word and phrase of VPN terminology is crucial to understand VPNs as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This glossary explores 12 key phrases of VPN terminology, including different types of VPNs and various protocols that VPN services use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The essential VPN terminology you need to know<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Advanced Encryption Standard.<\/strong>\u00a0AES is a block cipher — a method of text encryption — developed and implemented globally to secure and encrypt highly classified and sensitive data. For example, the U.S. government uses AES to protect its sensitive data. AES is often compared to the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman algorithm, and VPN providers use either AES or\u00a0RSA\u00a0in VPN services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dynamic multipoint VPN.<\/strong>\u00a0DMVPNs are one type of VPN that essentially applies mesh network topology to an organization’s VPN connections. DMVPNs directly connect all sites within a network to one another. So, traffic isn’t required to pass through an organization’s headquarters, and each site can share data to another branch location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encryption.<\/strong>\u00a0No list of VPN terminology is complete without the word\u00a0encryption<\/em>\u00a0— a process to disguise classified data and convert it into a secret code, which must be decrypted once the data arrives at its destination.\u00a0VPNs encrypt connections\u00a0between an organization’s network and network resources and authorized users or employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gateway.<\/strong>\u00a0All data enters and exits networks through gateways. Gateways are network nodes that connect two networks with different transmission protocols and translate those protocols so the networks can communicate. Nearly every type of VPN uses gateways to connect users to networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardware VPN.<\/strong>\u00a0A hardware VPN is another type of VPN, which is more expensive than a software-based VPN. However,\u00a0hardware VPNs provide more security than software, can support more clients and provide load balancing to those clients. Hardware VPNs are physical appliances with the same features as standard VPNs but suit enterprise use cases better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beyond VPN terminology, this chart visually explores how a VPN works and transfers data.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Internet Protocol Security.<\/strong>\u00a0IPsec is a protocol that secures IP network traffic and provides the foundation for security services to enable network security at the IP layer. VPNs may use IPsec or other security protocols to enable extra security for organizations with network infrastructure that isn’t able to provide security on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile VPN.<\/strong>\u00a0Mobile VPNs are a type of VPN for mobile and other devices that move between physical locations. Mobile VPN tunnels use logical IP addresses, not physical addresses, to enable seamless VPN connectivity while devices roam. With mobile VPNs, users can move between private and public networks without risk to their security or connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote access.<\/strong>\u00a0With remote access, users can connect to their organizations’ networks remotely from somewhere other than their workplaces, such as from home. VPNs\u00a0enable remote access. Also, a\u00a0remote access VPN\u00a0is a common type of VPN, which connects users to company networks through a VPN gateway and requires user authentication before it grants the user network access. Remote access VPNs typically use IPsec or Secure Sockets Layer protocols to enable secure connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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