News

Source: Electronic Distribution Today, March/April 2002

by Joe Oakes

As more and more distributors find themselves using e-commerce to help them increase sales and improve customer service, the issue of security has grown in importance. A distributor who doesn't thoroughly research the method he chooses to conduct e-business could risk doing more harm than good to his bottom line, and his business.

For example, let's say a distributor requires his branches to e-mail him a weekly list of customer special orders. The lists include customers' names, contact information, a description of the order, and the price charged. What if an unscrupulous competitor intercepted that data? What could that mean to the distributor's business?

Wide Area Networks

Wide area networks (WANs) connect local area networks (LANs) over relatively large geographical areas using transmission facilities provided by common carriers like telephone companies. Using a hardware device called a gateway router, Internet data packets leave your local network and are routed to other routers on the WAN that identify the most efficient pathway to their destination. WAN connections, like T1 lines, are dedicated to handle only your corporate traffic and need special high-speed digital communication equipment located at the phone company's switching station called a CO central office. All of this can become quite costly to implement due to all the specialized hardware required.

Virtual Private Networks

Fortunately, distributors have an alternative to the high operating costs of WANs while still preventing unauthorized access to their digital assets and retaining the ability to expand their remote networking connectivity options.

A virtual private network (VPN) provides a scalable networking architecture using a secure point-to-point data transmission pipeline across a public network (e.g., the Internet). Now distributed networking environments can be connected across long distances, opening up powerful internetworking opportunities like joining Internet trading networks.

For example, a VPN solution can connect your multiple branches together securely without the cost of purchasing dedicated phone lines. Additionally, telecommuters and workers-on-the-go can remotely connect to the corporate LAN from any local Internet access point. This secure Internet pathway is made possible using an encrypted Internet protocol (IP) tunneling technology called IP Security (IPSec) and requires no changes to the application.

How to Implement VPN

A VPN implementation strategy should include the following tasks.

1. Network Discovery Requirements
1. Baseline your current and projected additional Internet traffic using ISP or HSP reporting metrics.
2. Choose a flexible communication connectivity technology that can grow with your business requirements.
3. Factor in other network Internet traffic like email, on-site hosted web servers and corporate Internet browsing.
2. Networking Architecture
1. Work with a Professional Network Design Engineer on developing an architecture layout and strategy that fits your business requirements.
2. Build in security measures, fault tolerance, reporting, and debugging methods.
3. Research VPN Products and Providers
1. Evaluate VPN software, hardware and all-in-one VPN appliance solutions.
2. Choose technologies that are mature, can work together and connect with existing equipment.
3. Choose products that fit your feature requirements and budget.
4. Choose a provider that offers VPN technical services and understands your coverage.
4. Deployment and Testing
1. Develop a corporate rollout plan for employees and branches.
2. Educate your workforce on proper usage.
3. Provide users with technical support contact information when they encounter issues.
4. Measure and monitor usage and activity.

Connectivity is an integral part to a company's overall success and since we operate in very connected world protecting and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information is critical. The benefit of a VPN solution is it provides the whole enterprise a means to safeguarding the data privacy of each node within an acceptable price point. The overall value of a VPN solution is it provides a corporation with a flexible networking infrastructure that can evolve without geographical boundaries.

Joe Oakes is manager of technical research and development at Prophet 21.

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