Building Linux Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

This book gave a solid grounding in what is available and a broad idea of how to use each of the options, such as IPSec with Openswan; PPTP with PopTop, using SSH+PPP, and other more proprietary VPN methods.Some of the info is a bit dated; For example, many Linux kernels these days come standard with support for IPSec and PPTP as modules. I definitely recommend after reading this book and deciding on a VPN strategy, that you find quality web sites with more up-to-date information about how to configure your selected VPN technology on your selected Linux distribution. I chose Debian/GNU Linux myself. With this book and some updated information added to that foundation, I feel like I have a good start.

This book really needs a good update. There's a number of cited applications and implementations that have significant improvements in modern Linux distributations.This book is old enough that most of the things in here are still doing it the hard way.

I am the main network IT guy for a small firm, and was told a year ago that we needed to get remote access ability for our employees when they're home, and get a VPN set up between our main office and the one downtown. I've been putting this off for about a year now because I never felt like I would be able to figure it all out on my own.I've read pretty much every VPN book out there, and have been dissapointed at every turn. Even the one by O'Reilly, normally a really great publisher, didn't have actual implementation details that are necessary.Building Linux Vpns gives you a great introduction in the first two chapters to get you up to speed, teaches you all the right terminology, possible network layouts, and stuff, and then dedicates the rest of the book to easy-to-follow step-by-step implementation details.After reading the book it took 2 hours from start to finish for me to get our two offices connected via VPN (I went with IPSec / Freeswan), simply following the instructions. I'm in the middle of testing the PPTP setup for home access for those PC folks, and it is working exactly as promised.If you actually need to understand vpn ideas and be able to build one, this is the book for you.

Building Linux VPNs is the first book I've bought in the last three years that has the right balance between theory and practice. The first two chapters let you know everything you need to know about VPNs and network topologies and 'gotcha's (where should the DNS server go? How should I route?) They get all this out of the way quickly. Many books that are dedicated to VPNs only talk about this part of the equation, and do so for hundreds of pages. Oleg and Brian get it all down so you can digest it in a sitting and have everything you need to know. The remaining chapters cover specific VPN protocols. I needed to support PPTP for the majority of my windows clients, and IPSec for my remote offices and more recent laptops that suppported it. I literally built these VPNs by reading and copying in text (yes, I could have got the code off the web page, but nothing is better than doing it yourself) as I went along. Not a single problem, it was smoother than smooth. I can't recommend this book enough. If you want a VPN on Linux (or other Unix for that matter) then this is the book for you.

I moderate the Virtual Private Networks mailing list on SecurityFocus. There aren't very many good books on VPNs, and those that are reasonable tend to be more focused on protocols and specifications, and less on how to get the darn things up and running. Oleg and Brian lay out the different choices in terms of technical architectures, helping the readers pick which solution is best for their needs. They provide great info on getting things up and working -- lots of examples -- and hurrah, lots of tips for troubleshooting. If you have to deploy a VPN and you want to do it quickly, inexpensively and securely, BUY THIS BOOK.

Building Linux Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) from New Rider is a musthave book for anyone interested in the topic. Not only does it do a greatjob providing useful and current information for setting up common ssh/ppp,ssl/ppp, PPTP and IPSec configurations, it covers some more exotic VPNapplications using VTun, cIPe and tinc. The book is very well organized andextremely readable for a person that is comfortable with networking andlinux. The authors cover the design and implementations of the mentionedVPN technologies with ample diagrams and example configuration material.They, also, provide many pros and cons for each of the technologies.The authors did a great job of covering a large number of applications ina very clear and concise fashion.

I've been struggling with PPTP and FreeS/WAN for years now and the hardest task I now have to deal with is teaching others the intricate nature of VPN's, tunneling, masq'ing connections and linking private LANs together. This book has been an excellent resource to intruct others on how to administer our tangle of connections and taught me a few nifty tricks in the process.

If you need to know, really need to know VPN internals and how to make them work, Oleg Kolesnikov has written a masterpiece.