Overview: Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Quick Definition

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a network topology in which network traffic is routed to and from a remote endpoint in such a way that the endpoint can be reached from within a local network and its traffic is protected by encryption.

The primary use for a virtual private network is to safely enable users that are physically remote from an organizational network to participate in it as if they were a local node within the network, in a way that ensures that the network, the node, and the traffic passing between them all remain secure. The fastest VPNs do this with little to no performance penalty on today's networks.