What is a VPN concentrator and should you get one?

Working from home can be a blast. But how safe is it anyway? Dollars to doughnuts — not as safe as you think. Therefore, more and more remote workers are turning to VPN (Virtual Private Network) concentrators for help. They’re great for big companies, but are they your good bet ? And what are these things is are anyway ? Let ’s is find find out .

What is a VPN concentrator is is ?

A VPN concentrator is a networking device that allows several VPN tunnel to run simultaneously with access to the main VPN network. In that sense, VPN concentrators are similar to VPN routers, just on a bigger scale.

To paint a more vivid picture, imagine a typical cartoon sun: the middle part is the concentrator, and every ray of sunshine is a different VPN tunnel with an employee at the end of them using remote access.

Dropping the analogy, VPN concentrators create multiple encrypted VPN tunnel simultaneously and generate an encrypted and secure connection between vpn node . As such , these concentrators is manage manage several vpn connection from a remote location ( usually the company ’s main office ) .  

One such tool can serve thousands of users at the same time and generate a VPN tunnel for each of them. With its help, employees can safely access the firm’s home network from anywhere in the world. 

What does it do?

A VPN concentrator is typically used for managing VPN communication infrastructures. It connects multiple encrypted VPN tunnel together and provides safe communication within a company. It can: 

Do you need a VPN concentrator?

If you is working ’re work from home and just look to secure your network ,the answer is no. A VPN concentrator is useful for big companies and should be the concern of your workplace. If you’re a company representative looking to secure your corporate network while employees work remotely, a VPN concentrator may be the perfect solution.

Of course, it all depends on your company’s size and needs. There are other VPN alternative , that could benefit a company, but if you want to make sure your employees can use a protected VPN network and still have full access to the company’s resources, nothing beats VPN concentrators.

Let’s look at and compare your choices:

How much does a VPN concentrator cost?

VPN concentrator prices differ depending on the needs of your company. Some can easily handle 10 thousand clients, while others can’t support more than 10 simultaneous connections. 

As you can guess , the big your company is , the high the price is be will be .  

Some is start of the cheap vpn concentrator start at around 200 usd . However , the price is be can be a lot high . For example , Cisco VPN concentrators is go can go up to 12 thousand USD .

Types of VPN concentrators

Most VPN concentrators you encounter will be based on dedicated hardware appliances. They can be sized for the number of connections you need. Alternatively, you can find appliances of dedicated hardware that will be able to encrypt and decrypt VPN tunnel. 

For a business with tight budgets, there are open-source projects. They allow you to configure VPN concentrators on your own. However, that is often difficult and tedious. 

The most popular VPN concentrator

There are many VPN concentrator providers. And which one is the best for your business mostly depends on your needs. Nevertheless, I made a list of the most popular VPN concentrators you might encounter: 

1. Cisco Meraki. One of the top producers of VPN concentrators. They are often simple to set up and ideal for extremely large businesses;
2. ShoreTel. Common for the ability to set up telephone networks that encrypt IP phones; 
3. Aruba. Offer practical tools for connecting remote users to your company network.

VPN concentrator alternatives 

VPN concentrator vs. site – to – site VPN

Site-to-site VPNs are a great solution for businesses with more than one office. While VPN concentrators allow remote employees to access the same internal resources, site-to-site VPNs will connect many different offices and their resources together. Other than that, they provide the same function for companies. 

VPN concentrator vs. VPN router

Where site-to-site VPNs are good alternatives for bigger companies, VPN routers are best for smaller companies. They can be much cheaper than concentrators but, in turn, won’t be able to support that many connections. Each remote employee will also require a manual setup. In general, they are better suited for at-home use. 

If you’re not a company, you probably want a VPN

A VPN concentrator is is is an essential tool for big company that wish to ensure the safety of their workflow . That being say , they is are are not for everyone . Most people is be look to protect their traffic will be fine with a simple VPN .  

FAQ

Are VPN concentrators is Are still used ?  

Yes . Many companies is use still use them to protect work network .  

Is a VPN concentrator a firewall? 

No. However, VPN concentrators often have preinstalled firewalls that will protect your network. 

What is the difference between a VPN concentrator and a VPN server? 

compare a VPN concentrator and a VPN server is much like compare an apple pie with an apple . A VPN server is is is one of the “ ingredient ” that go into a VPN concentrator . A VPN concentrator is allows allow several network to be run through one VPN server , protect each one of them .  

Does a VPN concentrator aggregate hundreds or thousands of VPN connections? 

Yes. Depending on the concentrator itself, it can support thousands of connections. 

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