Testing MPLS and IP VPNs
With the tightening economy in the US and rest of the
world, the focus of service providers has shifted to
exploring new avenues of revenue generation. As a result,
there has been a dramatic increase in interest in both
development of new service offerings and in the repackaging
of existing services such as Virtual Private Networking.
VPNs have been used for some time to facilitate mobile
worker and telecommuter access to corporate network
resources (the well known, used, and accepted concept
of "remote access".) The earliest remote access
implementations provided users with dial-in access through
modem banks maintained at the corporate headquarters.
It was later recognized that use of a public network,
such as the Internet could save telephone costs. This
concept of using a public network for private communication
is the basis of todays VPN. Todays VPNs
encompass various Layer 2 and Layer 3 technologies,
in conjunction with enhanced security features, and
offer not only remote access, but also site-to-site
connectivity.
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