Site-to-Site VPN

Easily integrate a unified security solution across your organization’s cloud-hybrid network, with the Perimeter 81 Site-to-Site VPN.

Site-to-Site VPN
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What is a Site-to-Site VPN?

Site-to-Site VPNs are established by connecting two gateways in separate locations via the internet, private networks or outsourced networks using IPsec. They allow organizations of any size to easily and safely access their IT resources, whether they’re hosted locally or in the cloud. The primary purpose of a Site-to-Site VPN is to provide secure access to sensitive assets and network resources including internal customer and sales systems, SaaS applications, and local file storage for employees accessing them from different devices and potentially unsafe Wi-Fi connections.

Seamlessly integrating with major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, the best Site-to-Site VPNs offer organizations a scalable way to connect low-latency remote offices. Employees can connect to the tools necessary for their roles whenever and however they like, simply by logging into their Site-to-Site VPN solution via a web, desktop, or mobile app before being granted access. The encrypted IPsec tunnel created between their chosen device and the network allows them to browse the web and work safely.

What is the Difference Between a Site-to-Site VPN and a Remote Access VPN?

Virtual Private Networks were introduced nearly 30 years ago, when Peer-to-Peer Tunneling Protocol was first invented. Now, enterprises can take advantage of the same basic concepts but have begun to consume this utility as a service, rather than being required to install VPN hardware on-site before seeing value. This transformation is a weight off IT teams’ shoulders, as they can easily integrate a complete Site-to-Site VPN service across their entire network without complex installation, configuration, or expensive hardware upkeep. Onboarding, management, and network visibility are easy with a single admin panel, and the VPN provider is responsible for all patching and maintenance.

IT teams can now focus on tasks that are more productive as IT managers have found Site-to-Site VPN solutions a crucial cost-cutting tool as well. By hosting their organization’s VPN with a high-quality third party provider, an organization’s CTO can budget for his or her team easily and expect a stable, secure, and low-latency experience for remote workers. With a predictable subscription-based model, transparency about what kind of hardware the provider uses and where it resides geographically, and what the logging policy is, it’s easy to predict a specific quality of service.

A Remote-access VPN gives employees access to secure connections with a remote computer network for accessing network resources as if they were directly connected to the network’s servers.Though it’s true that some organizations might still prefer Remote-access VPNs, given that despite their high costs these VPN solutions do provide greater control, the variety and quality of modern Site-to-Site VPNs matches alternatives in every regard. With the rise of the mobile workforce and cloud transformation, there is an increased adoption of remote workers and many companies are moving to cloud infrastructures.

In the best Site-to-Site VPN examples, clients can anticipate a dedicated, highly qualified support staff and a global array of server nodes that mean faster connections anywhere. They’ll also have granular level details of hardware performance and encryption provided, not to mention a Site-to-Site VPN that is more scalable.

What is the Difference Between a Site-to-Site VPN and a Point-to-Point VPN?

Site-to-site VPNs securely connect corporate networks with remote offices to communicate and share resources as a single network. Organizations sometimes use site-to-site VPNs for private traffic instead of using MPLS. A site-to-site VPN bridge helps to provide access and enterprise-class encryption over secured and encrypted networks.

Since site-to-site VPNs create private tunnels between a user’s device and the remote network. These services offer encrypted tunnels between a user’s computer and a server to anonymize traffic and protect organizations from attackers. They also allow users to bypass geographical restrictions placed on streaming content, for instance.

Point-to-Point VPNs work similarly, but instead of connecting to a server and relaying your traffic, the service maintains a direct connection within a network. In other words, Point-to-Point VPNs place resources entirely in the domain providing the VPN.

A Point-to-Point VPN relies on the concept of a circuit-switched network for both access control and the transport of data between two networks. If the endpoint doesn’t have a public IP address, the server can route traffic through the physical network that resides on that server and then back out to the public internet.

How Does a Site-to-Site VPN Work?

Site-to-Site VPNs grant the employees of an organization secure access to its resources: cloud-based SaaS applications, files and data storage, and more. All employees need to do to gain network access is open their Site-to-Site VPN application on their computer’s desktop, through the web, or via their smartphone or tablet. Afterwards, the VPN establishes a secure connection using site-to-site Internet Protocol security (IPsec), which resides on Layer 3 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. IPsec works for both remote-access and network-to-network deployments to spin up encrypted tunnels between peers sending data to one another.

On Internet Protocol (IP) networks, cryptographically-secure IPSec security keys create a protocol for clients to mutually authenticate their communications both at the beginning of and during a session. Cloud VPN, Site-to-Site VPN, and VPNaaS enable two networks to be connected as if by a hardware router. IT managers are also able to delineate specific rules and network policies across local and cloud environments, and this is accomplished more easily through the client rather than time-intensive configuration.

Why Switch from a Consumer VPN to a Site-to-Site VPN?

These days, it’s somewhat difficult to find an organization that doesn’t have a cloud-hybrid network, and this alone justifies the need for a Site-to-Site VPN rather than a traditional VPN. Over 96% of organizations have incorporated some cloud-based platforms into their general business flows, whether applications, file storage, or other crucial systems that keep the business in the black. Additionally, the onset of 5G has encouraged organizations to allow for more and more remote work and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. This has changed the shape of the modern network perimeter significantly, and demands that IT teams install a thorough, holistic network security solution which covers this more numerous and diverse swarm of endpoints.

The VPNs invented decades ago are simply not compatible with this reality. Though they are still somewhat relevant and indeed provide encrypted access, the effort and money required for them to conform to modern hybrid-cloud networks is an enormous obstacle. There’s also the idea that traditional VPNs allow users freedom to roam all corners of an organization’s network, lacking built-in segmentation and policy-based access management capabilities that are necessary to reduce insider data breaches. Unfortunately, these occur more than ever, and represent a problem for compliance-focused organizations.

Regardless of intentional insider data breaches, the number of remote workers, devices, and improperly secured public Wi-Fi sources creates further gaps in network security. The only way to combat the risks that occur when an employee works from a cafe, for example, is to rely on user-centric security solutions rather than perimeter-centric ones. Site-to-Site VPNs put the focus back on the users navigating through a network, and do away with the idea that once someone has access, they’re trusted with each and every resource they can get their hands on.

Parting ways with the notion of security, Site-to-Site VPNs are also lauded for their cost-efficiency and ability to boost productivity. Site-to-Site VPNs offered as a service offer seamless onboarding, omnipresent network visibility, lower latency, and other more favorable benefits in terms of scalability. When it comes down to brass tacks, the migration from a traditional VPN solution to an Site-to-Site VPN is a foundational step in instituting a hard-line, agile network security policy.

Protect Your Organization’s Resources

Total Endpoint Encryption

IPsec tunneling protocols establish a secure connection between users’ devices and network resources, as soon as they log into the VPN client. This ensures that only authorized users and devices can connect.

Low-Latency Remote Work

Full secure access for remote workers includes the ability to connect from anywhere and at any time, and share data securely. Those with the ability to connect are already authorized, so oversight is kept to a minimum.

Easy Cloud Integration

One of the biggest advantages of a Site-to-Site VPN is that they’re cloud-friendly and cloud agnostic, meaning they can seamlessly integrate with the most popular products like Salesforce, AWS, and others.

Highlighting the Benefits of a Site-to-Site VPN

Better network visibility
Seamless integration with cloud products
Secure, low-latency remote network access
Instant onboarding
Effortless scalability for growing networks

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Our Site-to-Site VPN Consists of 4 Primary Capabilities

Unified Network Platform
One cloud-based platform capable of access management, monitoring, permissioning, and other IT necessities.

Multi-Tenant Cloud
Divide the network into segments according to your security policies. Segregation protects network resources.

Easy to Use Clients
Support for 2FA and single sign-on, across mobile devices using iOS and Android, PC and Mac desktops and the web.

Zero Trust Access
Requiring both user and device authentication, this multilayered model hinges security on users, not perimeters.

What a Site-to-Site VPN Offers Your Organization

Security on All Devices: BYOD policies multiply the number and variety of devices connecting to your network. Site-to-Site VPNs allow authorized, secure access for all devices and remote workers no matter the details.

Cloud Agnostic Integration: The ease with which an Site-to-Site VPN integrates into any cloud-based platform or service (as well as local environments) enables organizations to protect all their resources in a unified fashion.

DNS Filtering: DNS filtering is essential for all organizations as it limits the number of threats a network is exposed to by using the Domain Name System to block user access. This helps to significantly reduce the remediation workload for an organization’s IT teams.

Superior Quality Assurance: Connecting to the VPN through a diverse global server array helps the QA and marketing teams determine how best to target different markets, and how successful current efforts are.

Safe Remote Access: Automatic Wi-Fi security lets remote workers connect to sensitive resources from the public internet without fear of exposure, while encrypted tunnels shield data sharing from prying eyes.

Precise User Segmentation: Beyond the capabilities of traditional VPNs, the addition of granular policy-based permissioning helps organizations exercise greater control over those entering their network.

IP Whitelisting: Explicitly define the IP addresses that are allowed to access the network, granting IT teams a stronger grip on security and also the ability to assign static IPs to automatically trusted sources of traffic.