* Use of VPNs becomes major factor in corporate network design
Rather than being just an add-on to existing networks, the use of VPNs is becoming a major factor in how corporate networks are designed, according to a report by the Burton Group.
VPNs, both remote access and site-to-site, either home-grown or part of managed services, are changing the shape of business networks, according to Burton’s “Vantage Point 2004-2005 Network and Telecom Strategies Overview,” due out this summer.
IPSec VPNs are already mainstream and Secure Sockets Layer remote access VPNs have been accepted to the point that major corporations are installing SSL gear as their primary remote access technology, the report says. In addition, network-based MPLS VPNs are becoming more trusted and an ever-increasing alternative to other Layer 2 and Layer 3 links among corporate sites, the study says.
This increasing popularity of network VPN services is putting pressure on carriers and equipment vendors to increase interoperability as well. Since connecting customers to any place they need to connect will necessarily require crossing more than one carrier’s network, links between carriers must be standardized. Without standardized internetworking, desirable things like VoIP and quality of service for data will lag, Burton says.
While the needs are well known, Burton thinks solutions will take time. “Prospects for inter-provider MPLS VPNs, QoS, IPv6 transit, or VoIP services are not likely to occur soon,” the Burton Group says.
The issue is important enough in Burton’s mind that it has made it a focus of its annual Catalyst Conference held July 21-23. The consulting company rightly notes that business-network planners need to recognize these trends as they draw up their new network architectures.
