Using a public network such as the Internet as a private one for intranet, remote access and extranet - can provide significant cost savings by eliminating leased lines and long distance costs. In fact, cost savings estimates range from 20 to 60 percent less than private leased lines or dial up networks.

Privacy is maintained by using a protocol that allows encrypted data elements so that no one else but the person or system for which the data is intended can read it.

CIS offers VPN assessments that address in detail the following issues:

• Security
• Performance
• Management

Security
First, it is necessary to determine the degree of security in three specific areas:

Access Control
Without understanding what information should be accessible, a VPN can only protect the data in transit. CIS's view of VPN technology includes a review of what information can be accessed by your VPN users, so that what should be available is, and what should not be, is not.

Authentication
How will you verify that the person on the other end of the link is who he says he is? Should you use a simple password scheme, hardware tokens, or multi-layer authentication?

Encryption
The heart of VPN technology, encryption assures that the data being transmitted is sufficiently scrambled, so that only those intended to can read it. Encryption Keys allow users to lock and unlock the data. Keys then must be distributed, refreshed occasionally, and revoked when necessary. So key management becomes another critical issue in selecting and deploying VPNs.

Performance
Next, it is important to consider the performance issues. CIS can provide the baseline service to measure your traffic patterns. Or, if you already have a baseline of the data traffic you will be converting to the VPN, it can be analyzed to determine the proper infrastructure required and available to you. While early implementations of VPN technology were often unacceptable due to the variability of the Internet being used as transport, options are available today that range from getting priority access to using a private shared network instead of the public Internet.

Management
Another crucial issue in using VPNs is flexibility. How quickly can you implement changes, add new users, or scale the system? If you don't want to deal with management issues internally, CIS can manage it for you.

Planning a VPN includes determining before you deploy that the user environment is acceptable. VPNs use software that interfaces your normal communications software to the transport layer. Other applications may also try to fit in this space, such as those used by your ISP. Some providers forbid the use of VPNs. Know before you start what impediments there might be.

VPN Assessment Services

CIS's experts in VPN and Security technology will analyze your specific needs and make recommendations on what best fits for you. CIS can also help you make sure that the design you need fits into your budget and then implements it for you.