Building Linux Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) (Circle) (Paperback)

by Oleg Kolesnikov (Author), Brian Hatch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A virtual private network (VPN) enables computers to access remote resources--like the mail store on another office's mail server--from a geographically remote location. Rather than access the files over a private (and expensive) wide area network (WAN) link, however, a VPN makes its data transmissions across the open Internet. The magic is in making the communications secure, a critical job that requires a tunneling protocol that implements encryption. Building Linux Virtual Private Networks shows you how to set up VPNs without spending a lot of money, and without compromising ease of use or security. Oleg Kolesnikov and Brian Hatch emphasize network-to-network connectivity--fixed links between sites--rather than network-to-client connections. They show you how to use Linux to build a secure system of permanent--yet virtual--data links. There's coverage, for example, of the PoPToP daemon for handling Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), but there's no coverage of non-Linux clients with which to connect it.

There's a nice balance of managerial information (useful for justifying a VPN, and a Linux one in particular, to your boss) and technical details in these pages. Each of the covered packages gets nice documentation, complete with listings of configuration files and explicit statements of console input and output. --David Wall

Topics covered: Packages designed to enable VPNs between Linux gateways. Software oriented toward standard protocols (PPP-over-SSH, PPP-over-SSL, IPsec, and PPTP) as well as nonstandard ones (VTun, cIPe, and tinc). Lots of coverage goes to FreeS/WAN and ppp-mppe.

Product Description

Building Linux Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) covers the most popular VPN technologies available for the Linux platform. In the early chapters the theory behind VPNs is discussed, including needs and uses. Common network and host configurations are also covered. Subsequent chapters drill down into the implementation and configuration of specific software packages. Specific, detailed instructions are included as well as troubleshooting information. This book will be an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to implement a Linux-based VPN. This book will meet the needs of anyone, from the Linux user to the experienced administrator to the security professional.

--Oleg Kolesnikov

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Sams (February 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578702666
• ISBN-13: 978-1578702664
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #598,218 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Linux VPNs are your problem, this book is the solution, March 24, 2002

By	Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity.com" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Building Linux VPNs" (BLVPN) succeeds on multiple levels. It's lively, wise, practical, and thorough. With a minor exception, BLVPN is an unqualified triumph.

One of the book's amazing features is its willingness to not rehash "common knowledge." In other words, BLVPN assumes people who read books on Linux VPNs know something about two subjects: (1) Linux and (2) networking. Therefore, BLVPN doesn't waste time teaching the reader how to use the command line, and it doesn't include yet another boring description of the OSI model. Instead, BLVPN launches straight into practical, operational instructions for creating virtual private networks. I would like to see other authors adopt this approach!

Some of the book's key strengths include troubleshooting hints, clear diagrams, directory listings for key files, complete sample configuration scripts, and discussions of advantages and disadvantages of various VPN solutions. Furthermore, the text is supported by a web site with copies of the scripts available for download.

Because each chapter is a self-contained unit for each VPN technology, readers can pick a solution and begin immediate implementation. No other VPN book delivers implementation-grade advice like this.

My only regret was a failure to mention interoperability with BSD-based IPSec implementations. I would have loved to see a chapter on matching FreeS/WAN for Linux with KAME/racoon for FreeBSD. The authors should also consider describing how to configure Windows 2000/XP in IPSec tunnel mode to interoperate with IPSec on Linux and/or FreeBSD. Additionally, I believe I found typos in the figures on pages 168-9. I expect the book's web site errata page to publish a correction, if necessary.

If you need to build host-host, host-network, or network-network VPNs using Linux (or really any open source platform), "Building Linux VPNs" is your book. I recommend "Virtual Private Networks" by Yuan and Strayer as a complementary volume for those needing additional material on VPN theory and protocol encapsulation.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally someone wrote this book!, February 25, 2002

By	Clyde Sanston (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

I am the main network IT guy for a small firm, and was told a year ago that we needed to get remote access ability for our employees when they're home, and get a VPN set up between our main office and the one downtown. I've been putting this off for about a year now because I never felt like I would be able to figure it all out on my own.

I've read pretty much every VPN book out there, and have been dissapointed at every turn. Even the one by O'Reilly, normally a really great publisher, didn't have actual implementation details that are necessary.

Building Linux Vpns gives you a great introduction in the first two chapters to get you up to speed, teaches you all the right terminology, possible network layouts, and stuff, and then dedicates the rest of the book to easy-to-follow step-by-step implementation details.

After reading the book it took 2 hours from start to finish for me to get our two offices connected via VPN (I went with IPSec / Freeswan), simply following the instructions. I'm in the middle of testing the PPTP setup for home access for those PC folks, and it is working exactly as promised.

If you actually need to understand vpn ideas and be able to build one, this is the book for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The VPN book I wish I'd written, February 27, 2002

By	Tina Bird (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I moderate the Virtual Private Networks mailing list on SecurityFocus. There aren't very many good books on VPNs, and those that are reasonable tend to be more focused on protocols and specifications, and less on how to get the darn things up and running. Oleg and Brian lay out the different choices in terms of technical architectures, helping the readers pick which solution is best for their needs. They provide great info on getting things up and working -- lots of examples -- and hurrah, lots of tips for troubleshooting. If you have to deploy a VPN and you want to do it quickly, inexpensively and securely, BUY THIS BOOK.