How to Set up VPN Server in Asus Router ?

1. Why VPN ?

There are many reasons to start using a VPN well you can set up your own VPN to safely access your secure home network while you are anywhere in Hotels, Coffee shop etc. In VPN user first connects to the public internet with ISP, then initiates a VPN connection with the VPN server using client software.

What is a VPN ?

Virtual Private Network is a way of creating a secure connection to& from a networkor a computer. The VPN uses strong encryption & restricted private data access which keeps the data secure from the other users of the underlying network which could often be a public network like the Internet. Vpns have been used for years , but they have become more robust only in recent years. They are more affordable and also much faster.

 How to set up the ASUS wireless router as a VPN server using ASUSWRT ?   

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How to set up the ASUSWRT for VPN server – PPTP  ?   

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Types of VPN Protocols :

1. IPsec - Tried and trusted protocol which sets up a tunnel from the remote site into your central site. As the name suggests, it’s designed for IP traffic. IPSec requires expensive, time consuming client installations and this can be considered an important disadvantage.

2. L2TP - or Layer to Tunneling Protocol is similar to PPTP, since it also doesn’t provide encryption and it relies on PPP protocol to do this. The difference between PPTP and L2TP is that the latter provides not only data confidentiality but also data integrity. L2TP was developed by Microsoft and Cisco.

3. PPTP : This is the most common and widely used VPN protocol. They enable authorized remote users to connect to the VPN network using their existing Internet connection and then log on to the VPN using password authentication. They don’t need extra hardware and the features are often available as inexpensive add-on software. PPTP stands for Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. The disadvantage of PPTP is that it does not provide encryption and it relies on the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) to implement security measures.

4. Site-to-Site : - Site-to-site is much the same thing as PPTP except there is no “dedicated” line in use. It allows different sites of the same organization, each with its own real network, to connect together to form a VPN. Unlike PPTP, the routing, encryption and decryption is done by the routers on both ends, which could be hardware-based or software-based.

5. SSL or Secure Socket Layer is a VPN accessible via https over web browser. SSL creates a secure session from your PC browser to the application server you’re accessing. The major advantage of SSL is that it doesn’t need any software installed because it uses the web browser as the client application.

6. MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) are no good for remote access for individual users, but for site-to-site connectivity, they’re the most flexible and scalable option. These systems are essentially ISP-tuned VPNs, where two or more sites are connected to form a VPN using the same ISP. An MPLS network isn’t as easy to set up or add to as the others, and hence bound to be more expensive.

7. Hybrid : A few companies have managed to combine features of SSL and IPSec & also other types of VPN types. Hybrid VPN servers are able to accept connections from multiple types of VPN clients. They offer higher flexibility at both clienbt and server levels and bound to be expensive.

Conclusion :

Deciding which VPN is the best is not easy. It depends on lot of factors like the number of users, bandwidth, security and cost. Remember cheaper is not always better. For individual users, PP2P VPNs offer the best deal, but for large offices or ones with complex requirements for connectivity MPLS VPNs might be the best option.

Why Proxy Server is used

A proxy server is a computer that acts as an intermediary between the user's computer and the Internet. It allows client computers to make indirect network connections to other network services. If use proxy server, client computers will first connect to the proxy server, requesting some resources like web pages, games, videos, mp3, e-books, any other resources which are available from various servers over Internet. As soon as getting such request, the proxy server will seek for the resources from the cache in its local hard disk. If the resources have been cached before, the proxy server will return them to the client computers. If not cached, it will connect to the relevant servers and request the resources on behalf of the client computers. Then it 'caches' resources from the remote servers, and returns subsequent requests for the same content directly.

Nowadays, we use proxy server for various purpose like sharing Internet connections on a local area network, hide our IP address, implement Internet access control, access blocked websites and so on.