The remote access server as a virtual private networking server

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

The remote access server as a virtual private networking server

A virtual private networking connection emulates a point-to-point connection. To emulate a point-to-point connection, data is encapsulated, or wrapped, with an additional IP header that provides routing information to reach a virtual private networking server. The portion of the virtual private networking connection in which the data is encapsulated is called the tunnel.

For secure virtual private networking, data is encrypted before it is encapsulated. Intercepted packets are unintelligible without the encryption keys. The portion of the virtual private networking connection in which your data is encrypted is called the virtual private network (VPN) connection.

VPN connections are created, managed, and terminated by using special protocols called tunneling protocols. Both the virtual private networking client and the virtual private networking server must support the same tunneling protocol to create a virtual private networking connection. A server running Routing and Remote Access is a virtual private networking server for both the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunneling protocols. For more information, see VPN Tunneling Protocols.

The following illustration shows virtual private networking functionality.

For more information, see Virtual Private Networking.

Note

• On Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Web Edition, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, you can create up to 1,000 Point-to-Point Tunneling protocol (PPTP) ports, and you can create up to 1,000 Layer Two Tunneling protocol (L2TP) ports. However, Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, can accept only one virtual private network (VPN) connection at a time. Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, can accept up to 1,000 concurrent VPN connections. If 1,000 VPN clients are connected, further connection attempts are denied until the number of connections falls below 1,000.