Remote Access Overview

With Windows 2000 remote access, remote access clients connect to remote access servers and are transparently connected to the remote access server, known as point-to-point remote access connectivity, or transparently connected to the network to which the remote access server is attached, known as point-to-LAN remote access connectivity. This transparent connection allows remote access clients to dial-in from remote locations and access resources as if they were physically attached to the network.

Windows 2000 remote access provides two different types of remote access connectivity:

1. Dial-up remote access
   With dial-up remote access, a remote access client uses the telecommunications infrastructure to create a temporary physical circuit or a virtual circuit to a port on a remote access server. Once the physical or virtual circuit is created, the rest of the connection parameters can be negotiated.

2. Virtual private network (VPN) remote access
   With virtual private network remote access, a VPN client uses an IP internetwork to create a virtual point-to-point connection with a remote access server acting as the VPN server. Once the virtual point-to-point connection is created, the rest of the connection parameters can be negotiated.

Note

This chapter is primarily devoted to the discussion of dial-up remote access; however, many topics also apply to VPN remote access. For a complete understanding of VPNs, read this chapter first and then read the chapter "Virtual Private Networking" in this book.