1. Configuring Virtual Private Networks
  2. About Virtual Private Networks

1 About Virtual Private Networks

Note:

This document includes content that was tested against Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9, but applies to most Oracle Linux releases, and might also apply to other distributions.

VPNs are used to enable remote access between endpoints and provide site-to-site connections that simulate a larger network beyond the limitations of a deployed physical network. Encryption is applied to secure the traffic traversing the tunneled connections.

Implementations of VPNs have varied over time through the release of different VPN protocols, technologies, and applications. Oracle Linux supports two VPN technologies: IPsec OpenVPN implementation in Libreswan and WireGuard®.

WireGuard differs from OpenVPN in that OpenVPN uses certificates for identification and encryption. WireGuard uses public key encryption for those tasks. Secure key generation and management is handled in the background, and an option is available to preshare a key for an added layer of security.

For more information, see the following resources: