Connecting Remote Users to Your Network Via RAS or VPN over WAN

Overview:

Businesses today want access to their information on the corporate network from anywhere and at anytime. Whether they are on the road with customers or working from home, providing your employees with remote access to the corporate network is becoming critical.

Remote Access Service (RAS):

The Remote Access Service is applicable in any computing environment that uses a Wide Area Network (WAN) link or a Virtual Private Network (VPN). RAS makes it possible to connect a remote client computer to a network server over a WAN link or a VPN. The remote computer then functions on the server's LAN as though the remote computer was connected to the LAN directly. Using the remote access services of Windows 2000 and 2003 Servers, you can configure remote access servers that provide connectivity to the corporate network for authorized users. This transparent connection allows remote access clients to access resources from remote locations as if they were physically attached to the network.

Types of Remote Connectivity:

Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 remote access provides two different types of remote access connectivity:

1.    Dial-up connectivity

2.    Virtual private network (VPN) connectivity

Dial-up:

To gain access to the network with dial-up remote access, a remote access client uses the public telephone network to create a physical connection to a port on a remote access server that sits on the edge of the private network.  This is typically done by using a modem or ISDN adapter to dial into your remote access server.

Virtual private network (VPN):

A VPN can provide secure remote access through the Internet, rather than through direct dial-up connections. A VPN client uses an IP internetwork to create an encrypted, virtual, point-to-point connection with a VPN gateway that exists on the “edge” of the private network. This is typically done by connecting to the Internet first, and then creating the VPN connection. By using the Internet in this way, companies can reduce their long distance phone expenses and rely on existing infrastructure instead of managing their own.

NOTE:-

Dial-up Remote Access Servers are often referred to as RAS servers. VPN Gateways and VPN Servers are used synonymously.

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