What Is a VPN Gateway and How Does It Work 

Introduction to VPN gateways

A VPN gateway is a network device or service that serves as the central point of all VPN connections, permitting it to set up, manage, and secure virtual private network connections. It enables encrypted communication between communications networks, facilitating ordinarily ‘remote’ or secure access to authorized users. Protocols like IPsec or Internet Key Exchange (IKE) are used by VPN gateways to establish and maintain secure connections. In enterprise environments, they get used to connecting geographically dispersed networks securely.

How a VPN gateway works

A VPN gateway can be considered as a gatekeeper between two networks. A device (such as your phone or laptop) can join a private network by connecting to the VPN gateway, which first verifies your credentials (including a password or certificate) to let you in. It then encrypts an encrypted “tunnel” between your device and the network. 

In fact, requests are handled by a VPN gateway, ‘a secure, encrypted gateway to the Internet which masks your real IP address and routes traffic through a protected tunnel.’ In other words, the data is wrapped so that if someone is able to intercept it on the way they won’t be able to make sense of it without the special key. It’s responsible for encrypting traffic and sending this traffic over public Internet connections.

The gateway’s business is done using standard VPN protocols (like OpenVPN, IPSec or IKEv2) encrypting and sending the data. Of course you don’t need to remember those technical names, but you should know that the important thing is that it guarantees every single data packet was locked up tight. That’s why the VPN tunnel is pivotal to securely communicate with IPsec/IKE protocols. Basically, their information is secure since communication over public networks is safe (emails, files, login details etc.). The data is encrypted by the VPN gateway and if you’re on an unsecured WiFi at a café or airport, it even keeps it private by doing the encryption itself.

Key features of VPN gateways

Features of VPN gateways include features to enhance security and connectivity. One of the key features is to make secure connections between sites so that the data travels encrypted and doesn’t get compromised. It’s important to keep sensitive information non-grabbable and confidential. Multiple connections are also supported by VPN gateways, which enable several VPN tunnels to be established to the same VPN gateway, and the available gateway bandwidth is shared among them. They also provide DNS filtering to prevent visiting malicious sites, remote access for the employees working in different locations and site to site connection for securely connecting multiple office networks together. At this point, VPN gateways become an essential component of network security management, due to these features.

Why do we need a VPN gateway for secure remote access?

There are multiple reasons why VPN gateways are important:

Secure remote access

VPN gateway allows people to work from anywhere with complete safety online. For example, a company could allow an employee on a business trip or working from home to connect to their network and open internal files, just as if the employee were in the office. It’s called “encrypted,” meaning it can’t be ‘hacked’ on a public WiFi network. Remote access VPN uses a gateway for a secure, encrypted connection to the company resources such as email or database servers from an outside connection.

Telecommuters have a seamless access to internal resources, much like they are at site, with point to site VPNs. Individuals who want to set up a secure connection to a virtual network from a remote location also use point to site VPN connections. Furthermore, the use of a cloud VPN gateway provides small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with flexibility, accessibility, and low cost.

Linking offices

Usually lots of companies have different locations or branch offices. There are separate networks in each office, and VPN gateways at each office allow these networks to talk to each other, but securely, over the Internet. For instance, a retail chain may have one gateway in its headquarter and one in its store. Printers, servers, and databases can be shared as if on one network, since all traffic between them goes through their gateways. In addition, VPNs are capable of “bridging entire office networks” so that one office can securely share resources with another one. ExpressRoute can use devices that support site to site VPNs, thus showcasing how they can work in tandem within a virtual network.

Protecting data and privacy

A VPN gateway’s main job is to encrypt your data so it’s not available to prying eyes. What this means is that things such as passwords, customer records, or confidential email, are converted into code while in transit. What is neat about this is that, even if someone intercepts the data (say on an untrusted network), they will not be able to read it. Another good perk is that a VPN gateway sends traffic ‘over a secure tunnel’ thereby keeping away prying eyes from snoop into your browsing or data. In other words, the gateway provides you with extra privacy and security on top of every connection that goes through the gateway.

Safe browsing on public networks

A VPN gateway is always used when a public WiFi (coffee shop, hotel, airport) is accessed. It stops the others on the same network to spy your traffic. Internet banking or personal communications can well be kept private using VPN gateways on personal device even on unsecured networks, many people do it this way.

Network security

The VPN gateways, as part of network security, act as gateways to connect multiple networks, with private and virtual private clouds at the top of that list. Data transfer between networks is encrypted and sensitive information remains confidential. VPN gateways also escape cyber threats by providing encrypted tunnels between sites, which makes it harder for the unauthorized users to intercept data. Furthermore, they offer centralized control and management of network traffic, which gives administrators a better ability to control traffic and protect the data.

Access control and authentication

VPN gateways offer strong access control and authentication features to guarantee that only recognized connections can be admitted through their VPN. Using protocols an example is IKE authenticates users and assigns IP addresses to authorized devices only. VPN gateways also allow encryption and two factor authentication, making them an added security option that prevents unwanted access. VPN gateways control access to the network in order to prevent data breaches and cyber attacks so as to keep the business data secure.

VPN tunnel common use cases

The following use cases are most common:

Remote work

Let’s say there’s Alice, an engineer, on a journey for a conference. She should upload reports and check her company’s internal wiki. When she connects her laptop to the company’s VPN gateway in the office, her traffic is routed back home securely. The only problem is that she hovers over the company network as if she is at her desk, so she can use the same tools and the same data they are accustomed to share, without risking exposure. When remote users, like telecommuters, are making the most use of point-to-site connections, an on pre mises public facing IP address or some dedicated VPN hardware isn’t needed. The need for a secure connection to a virtual network via a point-to-site VPN is greatly dependent upon the client computer. It enables the client computers to remotely connect to Virtual Network securely.

Branch office connectivity

New York and Los Angeles have an office of a small business. All of the offices have their network with a VPN gateway on it. If the Los Angeles and New York gates are both routed out, the New York office can use them to securely retrieve files on the Los Angeles server as if they were connected to each other. A single virtual network gateway can establish multiple VPN connections, which can increase availability and use bandwidth. With this setup there is no need to email large files, or upload insecurely over public websites from office to office.

Business data protection

VPN gateways are used by companies that deal with sensitive customer or financial data to encrypt any data leaving their network. For example, a medical practice might need to ensure that patient records sent to an off–site backup server are always encrypted so data cannot leak. Also, VPN gateway is safer for online communications that need to meet the privacy rules (for example, HIPAA or GDPR).

Secure home access

Tech savvy users will set up a VPN gateway on their home router or server. It allows them to secure access to home devices (like a personal file server or smart home system) from anywhere. For example, if they want to check home security camera footage while they are on vacation instead of exposing the cameras directly to the Internet, they can connect to their home VPN gateway.

VPN gateway drawbacks

However, VPN gateways also have some downsides. The difficulty is that they are complex to set up and manage, and you need to particularize knowledge and expertise. VPN gateways can also be expensive to buy as well as maintain, particularly in the case of a small and medium sized enterprise. Latency can also be introduced and Internet speeds can be affected (especially if the gateway bandwidth is limited).

Also, the VPN gateways can be subject to cyber threats if not properly configured and managed thereby requiring frequent updating and maintenance of security. But with the emergence of cloud VPN gateways, many of these drawbacks are being worked upon and making way for a much more scalable, flexible and cost effective option of secure remote access.

VPN services and cloud VPN gateway functionality

Different ways of managing VPN gateways. Many small businesses and individuals will use VPN service providers that deal with the gateway for them, while large companies would use dedicated appliances for this purpose. Providers of these VPNs operate the VPN server software (the gateway) on their machines and all you have to do is connect using an app. Setting up and configuring traditional VPN gateways is often a complicated and time consuming affair. Furthermore, traditional VPNs use physical devices such as concentrators or routers, which govern encryption and routing, restricting their scalability and performance.

For example, the VeePN has a friendly app that connects you to the VPN gateways of its global network. To allow people to connect in a secure manner, VeePN showcases ‘top grade encryption’ and ‘user friendly interface’. In the first place, you do nothing, but just press ‘connect’ on the VeePN app on your device. All the work is done behind the scenes: on the part of VeePN’s servers, acting in place of VPN gateways that encrypt your traffic and pass it through the chosen location. VeePN uses AES-256 encryption and they offer some features, such as DNS/IP leak protection and an automatic Kill Switch, that add another layer of your security.

Overall, VeePN uses such interfaces to allow people to create a secure VPN gateway connection without much hassle. You don’t have to be an expert in networks – the app and the server take care of setup. Of course, there’s that simplicity, but behind that simplicity the gateway is encrypting the data you send, keeping it private.

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Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.

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