Creating a virtual private network or VPN is not as complicated as it seems. On the surface, a VPN may look like an intimidating task but with the right approach and planning you can create the most effective VPN network possible.
Why create a VPN? Well, for starters there are many reasons to have one. A good reason to outline your plan is to protect sensitive data from prying eyes. Private data should remain private and not be accessed by people who should not have access to it.
A typical example of this would be if your company had an intranet that only employees had access to and everything outside of that was confidential information.
This way, if someone walked into the office and saw something they shouldn’t have, that information cannot be passed along outside of the office.
It is also useful in cases where you want remote users to access a certain system without them being able to see inside your network or without giving them information they do not need to know about.
What Does a VPN Do?
A VPN creates a secure tunnel between two or more computers or users via a server. This tunnel uses a combination of encryption and authentication to prevent anyone from accessing the data between the computers without permission.
VPNs can be used to securely connect remote users to an organization’s network from remote locations. There might be cases where employees need to access the network from remote locations but want to ensure that the data is kept private.
If this is the case, creating a VPN will ensure that the data stays private and secure. VPNs can also be used to create remote access connectivity to servers and/or to other remote users. This may include remote offices, branch offices, or remote employees.
A VPN can be a useful tool to connect these remote locations in which there may be a need for a secure connection. Remote access solutions can also be used to create a secure connection between remote employees and the office network.
Why Create a VPN?
As mentioned above, there are many reasons to create a VPN. A common one is to protect sensitive data. A VPN can also help protect users when they are accessing data in remote locations, such as when employees need to access the office network from remote locations.
There may be cases where employees need to access the network from remote locations but want to ensure that the data is kept private. These are just a few reasons to create a VPN.
There are many more. A good way to find out what other specific reasons might exist for a company is to ask the CIO what their biggest challenges are and what issues they are facing in their daily work life. This can give you an idea of the issues your company is facing and the problems you can tackle with a VPN.
An Outline of a Good VPN Network
In this section, you will outline the infrastructure that is required to create a good VPN network.
DNS Resolver – This is the IP address that your clients will use to resolve any DNS names that they need to use. This is typically the same as your primary IP address, unless you are using a different DNS provider.
VPN Gate – This is where the clients will connect to your VPN. VPN Router – This is what will provide your VPN clients with an IP address that they can use to connect to the rest of the internet.
Establish the infrastructure
The first step to building out a VPN network is to establish the infrastructure. This can be done with a virtual private network (VPN) router and a DNS server.
The VPN router should be in the same network segment as your DNS server. If this is not possible, you can setup a VPN router that is attached to your primary router.
In this case, your clients will connect to the VPN router first and then connect to the internet. You can also set up a VPN router that is connected to a separate switch or router than your clients will connect to. This way, your clients will only use your VPN router and not your main router.
DNS and IPsec required for a secure VPN network
The next step is to make sure that you have an IPsec-enabled router, along with a DNS server that is IPsec-enabled. IPsec is a set of protocols that allow data to be authenticated, encrypted, and secured.
In order for your VPN tunnel to be secure, you need a TLS-enabled DNS server (such as a Google DNS server) and an IPsec-enabled DNS server (such as ISC or BIND9 nameserver).
Use virtual machines to create your VPN network
Virtual machines are a great way to quickly create a test network. You can create multiple virtual machines on your host machine, then create network segments and connect them together.
The virtual machines can be used to create different types of networks, such as a test network or a development network.
You can also create the virtual machines using different operating systems, such as Windows and Linux. You can also create static routes with the virtual machines, which will help you determine if you are correctly routing traffic.
Use containerization to create a secure VPN network
Containerization is a great way to create a secure VPN network. Containers are lightweight virtual machines that can be run on any host. With Docker and Kubernetes, you can quickly and easily create a secure VPN that runs on any host.
Using Docker, you can create a container that will run your VPN server. You can then use the container to run your VPN client code, as well as the DNS server, which will be the IPsec-enabled DNS server.
To ensure that your VPN is secure, you need to make sure that the DNS server that is being used is IPsec-enabled. With this setup, the VPN clients will be able to resolve the DNS names that they need, such as your hostname.
Wrapping up
Virtual networks are a great way to quickly create a test network or to have remote users connect securely to a site. With the right VPN router, you can create a secure VPN network that runs on any host.
There are a few components that are required to create a secure VPN network. First, you need an IPsec-enabled DNS server and an IPsec-enabled router. Next, you will need to create separate networks for different applications and assign each with an address.
In this guide, we walked you through the different ways to create a VPN network and how to secure it. It is important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for creating a secure VPN.
There are many factors that come into play, such as the type of clients accessing the network, the location, and the networks that are connected. With that in mind, you can ensure that your network is as secure as possible.