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Understand the Process Before You Begin

This manual provides examples of how to configure a secure IPSec VPN tunnel. This document assumes the reader has a working knowledge of NETGEAR management systems.

NETGEAR, Inc. is a member of the VPN Consortium, a group formed to facilitate IPSec VPN vendor interoperability. The VPN Consortium has developed specific scenarios to aid system administrators in the often confusing process of connecting two different vendor implementations of the IPSec standard. The examples in this manual follow the addressing and configuration mechanics defined by the VPN Consortium. Additional information regarding inter-vendor interoperability may be found at http://www.vpnc.org/interop.html.

It is a good idea to gather all the necessary information required to establish a VPN before you begin the configuration process. You should understand whether the firmware is up-to-date, all of the addresses that will be necessary, and all of the parameters that need to be set on both sides. Try to understand any incompatibilities before you begin, so that you minimize any potential complications which may arise from normal firewall or WAN processes.

If you are not a full-time system administrator, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of a VPN. The brief description below in this document will help. Other good sources include:

The NETGEAR VPN Tutorial - http://www.netgear.com/planetvpn/pvpn_2.html
The VPN Consortium - http://www.vpnc.org/
The VPN bibliography in "Additional Reading on page 2-12.