OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks: Learn how to build secure VPNs using this powerful Open Source application [Paperback]

Markus Feilner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2006

This book is a comprehensive guide to using OpenVPN for building both secure VPNs. The book is written in a very friendly style that makes this complex topic easy and a joy to read. It first covers basic VPN concepts, then moves to introduce basic OpenVPN configurations, before covering advanced uses of OpenVPN. This book is for both experienced and new OpenVPN users. Network administrators and any one who is interested in building secure VPNs using OpenVPN. It presumes basic knowledge of Linux, but no knowledge of VPNs is required. All basic VPN and relevant security concepts are covered.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Markus Feilner is a Linux professional from Regensburg, Germany, and has been working with open-source software since the mid 1990s. His first contact with UNIX was a SUN cluster and SPARC workstations at Regensburg University (during his studies of geography). Since the year 2000, he has published several documents used in Linux training all over Germany. In 2001, he founded his own Linux consulting and training company, Feilner IT. He was working as a trainer, consultant, and systems engineer at Millenux, Munich, where he focused on groupware, collaboration, and virtualization with Linux-based systems and networks. Since 2007, he is an editor at the German Linux-Magazine, where he is writing about Open-Source-Software for both printed and online magazines, including the Linux Technical Review and the Linux Magazine International www.linux-magazine.com. He regularly holds speeches and lectures at conferences in Germany. He is interested in anything about geography, traveling, photography, philosophy (especially that of open-source software), global politics, soccer and literature, but always has too little time for these hobbies. Markus Feilner supports Linux4afrika - a project bringing Linux computers into African schools. For more information please visit www.linux4afrika.de!

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Packt Publishing (May 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190481185X
• ISBN-13: 978-1904811855
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wrong title, OpenVPN for dummies?, November 6, 2006

By 

J. Archer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks: Learn how to build secure VPNs using this powerful Open Source application (Paperback)

This book should be titled OpenVPN for Dummies. It's a very simplified description of the OpenVPN tool, giving simple examples which could easily be found on the internet. The book content is almost half screen shots and listing with limited descriptions. It's missing any sort of detail on the complex issues of using OpenVPN. I hate to be so blunt, but I was severely disappointed. My advice is to pass on the book read the HOWTO on the OpenVPN web site.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good to get started, not recommeded for complex issues., February 19, 2007

By 

R. Van Drunen "rudi" (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks: Learn how to build secure VPNs using this powerful Open Source application (Paperback)

OpenVPN is an easy-to deploy system to get VPNs running. it Uses SSL to secure the data you are about to send over the net. OpenVPN is an all userland thing and therefore is easy to maintin. The book describes in detail how to get started with openVPN using a number of different platforms. It has an ease followable roadmap to get your VPN up and running in most cases. But it lacks imho the details on specific more complex cases. Also the book touches briefly on version 2.1 but does not address some of the interesting details of it and how to handle them. The book has a number of screenshots that describe how to handle things on different platforms (windows, unix). THe appendix is a valuable tool to find more resources on the net, once you get started.

In short: good beginners book, but when it comes to complex setups do not expect that much from this book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OpenVPN is great.. but this book is windowand GUI centric, March 19, 2007

By 

lirakis (Scorching hot Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OpenVPN: Building and Integrating Virtual Private Networks: Learn how to build secure VPNs using this powerful Open Source application (Paperback)

This book is 'okay' at best. It seems very simplified. They focus on testing and deploying OpenVPN with with windows clients.. then they have a whole chaper on using webmin to configure your firewall etc. I mean.. come on. If I am setting up my own VPN .. i probably am not using webmin... and if i was.. this isn't supposed to be a book about webmin.

I would suggest taking a look at some gentoo wiki pages on using openvpn. They are quick and strait foward. This book could have been cut down to about 3 or 4 chapters.. the rest is fluff.. and worthless fluff at that.