IPsec VPN

Start with VPN concepts

The IPsec VPN page brings together user-made resources on VPN types and IPsec. For an overview, start with the mind map “VPN and IPsec Concepts”. It covers VPN technology, benefits, site-to-site and remote-access VPNs, and enterprise and service provider VPNs.

Next, use “Implementing Virtual Private Networks” to look at VPN types and components, including access to the Internet and a telecommuter’s PC. The note on VPN types adds descriptions of peer-to-peer and overlay VPNs. Together, these resources offer places to begin before moving into IPsec details.

Explore IPsec in more detail

The mind map on combining AH and ESP looks at authentication and encryption, including ESP in tunnel mode and AH in transport mode. Use it to trace how the two are combined in the examples shown.

The key-management mind map introduces the security parameters index, or SPI, in IPsec headers. It describes the SPI as an index to a table of keys used in cryptographic processes for confidentiality and authentication. Compare this map with the AH and ESP map as you study the different details each one presents.

Use quizzes alongside the maps

A quiz on VPNs asks about connecting company sites over the Internet. Another asks about securely connecting multiple networks and tunneling. Use these questions to check your understanding after studying the overview maps. “Dialup IPsec VPN” includes protocol and port details for a more specific focus.

If a question brings up a concept you want to examine again, return to the relevant map or note. This topic sits within a wider unit in Networks and telecommunications: the resources on VPN types and implementation provide a connection between the IPsec details and that wider setting.

Choose a resource that fits what you are studying and explore it at your own pace.