Virtual Private Networking: A View From the Trenches [Hardcover]

Bruce Perlmutter (Author), Jonathan L. Zarkower (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130203351 | ISBN-13: 978-0130203359 | Publication Date: November 19, 1999 | Edition: 1st

VPNs are rapidly becoming the networking technology of choice for companies that want to link their locations, customers, and/or suppliers cost-effectively. This hands-on, "in-the-trenches" guidebook cuts through the VPN hype, helping any network professional build, secure, and manage a VPN successfully. The book covers both business and technical aspects of VPN consideration, planning, design, implementation, and ongoing management. Discover what VPNs are and how they work; make the business case for building a VPN; and determine whether to build it yourself or outsource it to an Internet service provider. Compare VPN deployment models; understand the L2TP tunneling protocol; learn your options for providing consistent Quality of Service and service-level guarantees; and more. The book also contains six detailed case studies; a full chapter on service provider VPN offerings; and a preview of the future of VPNs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Preface

The first time Bruce and I met, in Autumn 1996, we got into an argument. It was about VPNs—Virtual Private Networks, that is. Specifically, we had slightly different opinions as to exactly what the term VPN meant. I was a Product Manager for Bay Networks at the time, and was heavily involved with the development and roll out of our early VPN solutions. Bruce, a Corporate Systems Engineer, and new to the company, had been selected (or was he forced by our marketing group—I can't recall!) to be a technical speaker at a quickly organized set of customer seminars on VPNs. One of the marketing types had protested to me about this "new guy" that was attempting to "derail the entire seminar." "He won't let us include some of the slides," complained the marketer, wringing her hands. "He says they're not accurate." I quickly sought out the culprit, with the goal of setting him straight. Two things about that argument were impressive. The first was Bruce's passion for the topic. That anyone would argue so vehemently about a subject so innocuous in the overall scheme of things meant here is a guy that is a true professional, and also really cares about what he does. It was either that or he had a major screw loose. I understood quickly, as I got to know him, that it was definitely the former. The second thing that impressed me was Bruce's depth of knowledge on the topic. At that time, not many people knew or cared about VPNs in the data communications world. Some did, but not many. The term "VPN" had been used for a long time in the telephony arena, but was really just coming into vogue among data networking professionals in 1996. Having come over to Bay Networks from Digital, however, Bruce was well informed. This wasn't all that surprising, considering DEC's early presence in the VPN field with its AltaVista Tunnel product. It was refreshing, though, to work with someone who not only could discuss a variety of technical topics, but also, like me, enjoyed a good argument. That initial argument was the beginning of a professional relationship that I have enjoyed as much as any in my career. Two years later, when I was trying to write this book and first realized that I was not going to be able to finish it without help, there was only one person I knew I could turn to. When I later realized that I was not going to be able to work on it much at all, I knew Bruce would carry the load, and would do so with pleasure. Now this book is his, and it is based largely on his ideas. I guess you could say that he ultimately won the argument! Way to go, Bruce!—Jonathan Zarkower, Summer 1999Motivations

This book was written for two reasons. One is that there are many books on VPNs today that, to us, read like articles you'd find in so many trade publications. This is not surprising, since most (not all, but most) of the VPN books out there are written by professional writers, not by anyone who actually works in the networking business or has actually built a network. That is why we are calling this book "A View from the Trenches." While our style may not match that of the other books, we hope that you find our perspective useful as well as refreshing. We have enjoyed reading all of the other VPN books (there were five or six the last we counted) out there, but we wanted to provide a slightly different angle that would complement the others, not compete with them.

The second reason was that the other books on VPNs tend to focus on the enterprise view. Many large enterprises are doing a fine job of "rolling their own" VPN. As it so happens, both of us have spent the majority of our time the last few years working with service providers. We believe that service providers are in a position to do a fantastic job of helping many of the Fortune 50,000 (small to mid-tier companies) deploy Virtual Private Networks. Alas, none of the VPN books that we've seen really addresses the topic of VPNs from the point of view of the service provider. We have therefore tried to sprinkle the book with liberal doses of information and ideas that address the reader who may be employed by the ever-increasing number of service providers out there. A side benefit to this—we hope—is that the enterprise reader will learn a little more about what is actually happening inside that mysterious "cloud" that appears in just about every network diagram we've ever seen.Maximizing Your Experience

For best results, this book should be read linearly, not referenced like an encyclopedia. Frankly, we weren't out to write yet another piece of reference material. Not that we mind those—they can be incredibly useful—but why re-invent the wheel? We wanted to raise points that are not typically discussed in the more encyclopedic works and we think that our book does that. Our hope is that if you begin at the beginning of a chapter and read to the end, that you will emerge from that chapter feeling like an insider.

Another goal we set early on was to try not to make the content too "dry." As our friends and loved ones will tell you, both of us are slightly quirky people with slightly quirky senses of humor. We have been influenced by authors of other networking books (Radia Perlman come to mind first) that inject some of their own humor and personality so effectively without taking anything away from the actual content. If you find yourself supressing an occasional chuckle while reading this, and also learn a thing or two, we'll be happy.

From the Back Cover

Everybody's talking about VPN technology-now you can do something about it!

Virtual Private Networking: A View from the Trenches lets you cut through the hype and get down to building VPNs that really work to increase your productivity as you cut your costs.

The authors use their hard-earned experience to help you avoid the pitfalls in developing, implementing, and maintaining VPNs. And they know there is more than one side to every story. Using case studies to illustrate their discussion, Perlmutter and Zarkower present both the business aspects and the technical viewpoints, considering both enterprise users and service providers.

Systems engineers and network administrators will appreciate the nuts-and-bolts advice on implementing appropriate VPN strategies:

• Get expert tips for design, migration, implementation, and ongoing management
• Develop a holistic approach that includes such elements as User Authentication and Quality of Service to make your network run more smoothly
• Learn about deployment levels, tunneling protocols, service level guarantees, and traffic management

Service providers will get the low-down on VPN hosting:

• Increase profitability with new value-added services
• Utilize existing resources for new purposes
• Learn what subscribers are looking for in VPNs and how to give it to them
• Plan for the future with non-dial remote access and next generation security
• Get acquainted with new approaches to authentication such as Biometrics

Business users will find a wealth of information on what to expect-and what not to expect-from VPNs:

• Learn how to weave VPN technology into your overall MIS strategy, integrating it with legacy systems and building toward the future
• See how VPNs can facilitate e-commerce as well as intra-organizational networking
• Determine your organization's needs to find the right balance of security and convenience
• Discover the "decision points" that will help you choose the best vendors, or help you decide to keep development in-house

Virtual Private Networking: A View from the Trenches gives you the real low-down in straightforward terms that make it accessible without sacrificing accuracy. Loads of anecdotes and illustrations keep the subject interesting-and relevant to real-life situations. Virtual Private Networking: A View from the Trenches is the one book to get you going, and keep you going, in the brave new world of VPNs.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1st edition (November 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130203351
• ISBN-13: 978-0130203359
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,648,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Virtual Private Networking, May 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Virtual Private Networking: A View From the Trenches (Hardcover)

I find the book very good. It does gives a good introduction into the usage of VPN. However there is still some printing errors and some terms are not defined. E.g. Pg 13 the figure title does not really match the the description on pg. 12. There is also a print error such as Snmer instead of summer. The book is easy to read. It does not discuss too much into detail on the implentation and technical but a general view. It is very adequate and appropriate for VPN beginner . However if the author could provide some gllossary for the abbreviations used would be helpful. For example RADIUS is used throughout the book wiithout explaining what it is.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb introduction to Virtual Private Networking, July 1, 2002

By 

Hernan Cortes "The Conquistador" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virtual Private Networking: A View From the Trenches (Hardcover)

When I peurchased this book I was already involved in the deployment of virutal private networks for my organization. I regret that I did not have this book in my possession prior to engaging in such work. Having such knowledge beforehand may have elimenated much frustration and misunderstanding in the implementation of the service. I found the explanations of the various technologies involved were clear and concise. The rationale behind virtual private networks was presented evenly for both service provider and enterprise customer. I would recommend this book to anyone as an introductory lesson in VPNs.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview, February 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Virtual Private Networking: A View From the Trenches (Hardcover)

This is a very good overview/introduction of the VPN world. It targets business and product managers. I particularly liked the overview section. The book is well-written in the sense that it is easy to read and comprehend. It is not a programmer's reference.