Rather than utilizing expensive leased lines or other infrastructure, you use the relatively inexpensive, high-bandwidth Internet. The advantages of a VPN over an actual physical private network are two-fold. A VPN tunnel is a non-application oriented tunnel that allows the users and networks to exchange a wide range of traffic regardless of application or protocol. When data is encoded and transmitted over the Internet, the data is said to be sent through a “VPN tunnel”. VPNs also ensure that the data transmitted between computers cannot be intercepted by unauthorized users. VPNs use encryption and other security methods to ensure that only authorized users can access the network. A VPN is a secure logical network created from physically separate networks. SSL is not strictly a Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology that allows clients to connect to remote networks in a secure way.

Information is encapsulated at Levels 6 – 7 (Presentation and Application layers), and SSL VPNs communicate at the highest levels in the OSI model. SSL VPNs establish connectivity using SSL, which functions at Levels 4 – 5 (Transport and Session layers). As a result of the growing need for providing remote/mobile clients with easy, cost-effective and secure access to a multitude of resources, the concept of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) was developed. Employees traveling across the country or around the world require timely and comprehensive access to network resources. In addition, businesses are expected to provide clients with efficient, convenient services including knowledge bases and customer portals. As organizations have grown and become more complex, secure remote access to network resources has become critical for day-to-day operations.

Fortigate ssl vpn