Introduction (3.0)
Broadband solutions provide teleworkers with high-speed connection options to business locations and to the Internet. Small branch offices can also connect using these same technologies. This chapter covers commonly used broadband solutions, such as cable, DSL, and wireless.
ISPs value the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) because of the authentication, accounting, and link management features. Customers appreciate the ease and availability of the Ethernet connection. Ethernet links do not natively support PPP. A solution to this problem was created: PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE). This chapter covers the implementation of PPPoE.
Security is a concern when using the public Internet to conduct business. Virtual private networks (VPNs) are used to improve the security of data across the Internet. A VPN is used to create a private communication channel (also called a tunnel) over a public network. Data can be secured by using encryption in this tunnel through the Internet and by using authentication to protect data from unauthorized access. VPN technology provides security options for data running over these connections. This chapter describes some basic VPN implementations.
Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a tunneling protocol developed by Cisco that can encapsulate a wide variety of protocol packet types inside IP tunnels. GRE creates a virtual point-to-point link to Cisco routers at remote points, over an IP internetwork. The chapter covers the basic GRE implementation.
The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is routing protocol used between autonomous systems. This chapter concludes with a discussion of BGP routing and an implementation of BGP in a single-homed network.