The Challenges with VPNs
Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2
Traditionally, users connect to intranet resources with a VPN. However, using a VPN can be cumbersome because:
Connecting to a VPN takes several steps, and the user needs to wait for authentication. For organizations that check the health of a computer before allowing the connection, establishing a VPN connection can take several minutes.
Any time users lose their Internet connection, they need to re-establish the VPN connection.
VPN connections can be problematic in some environments that filter out VPN traffic.
Internet performance is slowed if both intranet and Internet traffic goes through the VPN connection.
Because of these inconveniences, many users avoid connecting to a VPN. Instead, they use application gateways, such as Microsoft Outlook® Web Access (OWA), to connect to intranet resources. With OWA, users can retrieve internal e-mail without establishing a VPN connection. However, users still need to connect to a VPN to open documents that are located on intranet file shares, such as those that are linked within an e-mail message.