The Different VPN Networks And Their Funcationality

September 1, 2016

The popularity of VPNs has grown so much that one does not need to explain what they are anymore. Everyone understands the importance of VPNs in protecting their identity and privacy in today’s world. Whether it is the different features that VPNs offer or the protocols they use, people today have a basic general awareness about VPNs. But now that it is known how important VPNs are, we need to take a look at how they work and the different types of VPN networks that are available. That is what we will discuss in this article.

How VPNs Work

Before we delve into the different types of VPN networks, we need to understand how exactly VPNs work. The term ‘tunneling’ is quite commonly used when one talks about VPNs so we will start with that.

When you use a VPN, you are connected to your destination through a different path than the one your ISP would take you through. This is a connection from your system to the destination, and everything you share over a VPN is encrypted. Therefore, it can be said that the data you share travels through a tunnel, with the tunnel encrypting or shielding the data from external sources.

All the nodes that you encounter in your path to the destination interact with the data packet you share. However, the decryption of the packets is possible only at end-points between whom the tunnel has been created.

Types of VPN Networks

Now that we know how a VPN works, we take a look at the different types of VPN networks that are in use today.

  1. Network-based VPNs

When different networks need to be connected to one another with the use of a VPN, network-based VPNs are used. This method is commonly implemented by organizations and companies that have head offices in different parts of the world which need to share data with one another. The use of IPSec is quite common in these kinds of VPNs.

As can be understood, establishing the end-points of the connection is quite essential in network-based VPNs. One must also decide upon the authentication method that will be used. The kind of information shared can also be regulated, giving rise to policy-based IPSec tunnels. Route-based IPSec tunnels are also used in network-based VPNs. These allow all kind of data to flow through the tunnel.

  1. Client-based VPNs

As the name suggests, client-based VPNs connect a client system to a network. The client system needs to authenticate itself by entering a username and password. After that, he or she can access the network and all the data within it. The authentication creates an encrypted tunnel for sharing sensitive information securely.

These are the VPNs most commonly used by people all over the world. Windows, iOS, Android, all these platforms and their devices usually employ client-based VPNs. Client-based VPNs help people secure their identity and data while using the internet and also allow remote employees to access company network and data while being away.


In this article, we saw the different types of VPN networks that are commonly used by people all over the world. The traits and usage of both types have been mentioned in the article to help the users know more about VPNs.

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