Melanie Purkis Cybercriminals don’t target businesses based on the size of their bank accounts. They look for those that have left the front door unlocked.
The most common kinds of cyberattacks include phishing and personal data breaches.
Private networks safeguard data from personal data breaches by replacing public networks. In the wake of 5G, public networks bring higher speeds and a significantly larger attack surface — allowing cyber attackers to launch and propagate attacks faster than ever before.
In this article, we’ll discuss the definition of a private network, the different types available, when your business needs one, and even some private network use cases.
What is a private network?
A private network is a network type that operates independently of public networks. It connects a predetermined number of devices within a completely segregated environment. Unauthorized users cannot freely access the data in a private network.
Because this data is transmitted within a separate network, there’s no need for encryption while in transit, so data is protected based on extremely limited access.
Private network vs. public network
Private networks are restricted to specific users, whereas public networks are open and accessible to anyone.
Private networks offer greater security and control, while public networks bring greater accessibility and scalability at a lower cost.
Understanding the differences between private and public networks will help you choose the right type of network for personal or organizational use.
Security
The primary advantage of a private network is its security. Since a private network restricts access to those you trust, it minimizes the risk of unauthorized access.
In contrast, public networks are accessible to a larger group, often anonymously, making them more susceptible to cyber threats.
While the encryption and security of public networks are improving, they still offer less stringent security protocols than private networks.
For instance, standards like HTTPS may have significantly improved data transmission security over public networks. However, private networks often employ their own advanced firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and continuous monitoring. For public networks, these measures must be balanced with broader accessibility, potentially giving attackers more entry points to exploit.
Control
Private networks not only allow businesses to tailor network resources and configurations to specific needs but also offer better management of network coverage and capacity. This is especially important for businesses in sectors like healthcare, where consistent network performance is critical for meeting operational demands and compliance standards, such as HIPAA.
Additionally, a healthcare provider might utilize a private network for more comprehensive coverage of connected devices without compromising on speed or data security. Having more control over the configuration of your network allows for more tailored approaches suitable for high service quality and operational efficiency in handling data.
On the other hand, public networks might make more sense for businesses that don’t have such specialized needs.
Performance
Private networks can be customized to prioritize traffic, reducing the likelihood of overwhelming the network with users and experiencing bandwidth issues. During high-traffic events like Black Friday sales, a private network can prevent bandwidth congestion, keeping an ecommerce website responsive and its transactions completed efficiently.
Cost
Private networks come with increased costs that include both initial setup and ongoing maintenance.
For example, establishing a 5G non-standalone Evolved Packet Core that can accommodate up to 50,000 subscribers may cost between $250,000 and $1.2 million, depending on the vendor. That includes the cost of installation and all associated equipment. In contrast, public networks generally require lower upfront investment and maintenance costs, making them more economical at the risk of compromised performance and security.
The different types of private networks
Private networks come in various forms, each tailored to different scenarios.
- Intranet: Think of this as your organization’s personal internet. It’s only accessible to an organization’s employees and uses the same technology as the internet.
- Extranet: Provides controlled external access to third parties, such as authorized partners, customers, or suppliers, to collaborate and share information securely.
- Virtual Private Network (VPN): Creates a secure and encrypted connection between your device and a remote server operated by a VPN provider. This setup provides private browsing that’s invisible to others on the same network. VPNs also offer location flexibility, allowing you to access websites and services that are normally geographically restricted by routing your connection through servers in different countries. Additionally, a VPN scrambles your data into a coded form, making it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the encryption key, adding a layer of protection against cyber threats.
- Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN): Segments a network into distinct sections (partitions) to improve speed and security. It groups together devices that interact frequently or perform similar functions, regardless of their physical locations. This setup facilitates data flow while restricting unauthorized access to sensitive information.
- Private Cloud: Offers cloud computing services on a private internal network to a select group of users instead of the general public, granting greater control and privacy.
- Enterprise Private Network (EPN): Securely connects all of an enterprise’s office locations for resource sharing via a dedicated private network.
When does your business need a private network?
For smaller setups or a situation where you’re not dealing with sensitive data, you may be able to operate without a private network. If you have a separate database server or application server, however, you may want to consider a private network. This will add an extra layer of security while the data is in transit. As an added bonus, due to the limited access, private networks are usually much faster.
Handling sensitive data
If your business needs to meet strict data regulations and compliance standards or processes sensitive information, such as personal data, financial records, or health information, a private network makes sense. For instance, legal firms dealing with confidential client information would greatly benefit from enhanced security, preventing unauthorized access and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.
High-speed requirements
Businesses that require high-speed data transfer for their operations might also consider private networks. Media companies that regularly upload and download large video files need a network that can handle heavy data traffic without lag.
Complex application hosting
Large ecommerce platforms or SaaS providers often find that private networks offer a smoother experience when handling complex applications. This is done through customizing the networks to better handle large traffic volumes and improve response times.
Inter-office connectivity
For businesses with multiple locations, a private network allows for inter-office connectivity. This is especially useful for firms like financial institutions that need real-time access to central databases for processing transactions or for consultancy firms requiring consistent synchronization of data across branches.
Private cloud trends
In 2022, the number of 5G subscriptions was approximately 166 million. The current growth trend is projected to reach 406 million by 2028. Because companies are realizing that they can get on-demand scalability and flexibility without complicated setups or high costs, they’ve become interested in what new solutions like VMware have to offer.
Historically, VMware hasn’t been offered as a viable choice for most mid-sized companies. There were giant VMware providers servicing the enterprise market or niche hosting companies with shared options for fledgling ideas.
When Liquid Web first introduced Dedicated VMware Private Cloud, a whole new way for most companies to host their web servers, applications, databases, and software was opened. We realized the barrier to entry could be lowered even further to make the benefits of VMware or virtual machine (VM-based) hosting accessible to as many companies as possible.
Multi-Tenant VMware Private Cloud is a new Liquid Web offering that works for nearly every growing company out there. Customers are willing to move their hosting needs from virtual private server (VPS) hosting, shared environments, and even dedicated server hosting.
VMware multi-tenant private cloud: your private network alternative
Most companies that decide to move to a private network environment do so for at least one of the following reasons: scalability, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, or ease of use. VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud can assist with them all.
Scalability
Scalability is expressed through smooth growth without the need to reconfigure your environment. You don’t have to perfectly predict the need for extra servers and scale in anticipation of growth, as lots of companies on dedicated servers do. Just add the required resources to the servers you already use when you are ready.
Similarly, it becomes cumbersome for smaller companies to scale their setup beyond a few VPSs. In this case, moving to a VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud makes it much easier to maintain robust IT architecture.
Flexibility
Flexibility means a lot for companies that can’t work with cookie-cutter solutions that traditional hosting environments provide. Private cloud builds can be configured with the exact software customers require.
In addition, a multi-tenant private cloud is perfect for companies that scale up and scale down (e.g., seasonally) since they only pay for the number of resources being used.
Cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness is key when it comes to VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud. Imagine a company using two dedicated web servers, each having 8 CPU cores, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB hard drives for $500. It doesn’t matter whether they only utilize half of those resources — they have to pay the full price for all the hardware regardless.
With a multi-tenant private cloud, if you’re using half of those resources, you’re only paying for half of those resources. You never have to overbuy, which is essential during the supply chain issues the global economy is facing. Even better, your VMs can also operate at the same efficiency all the time.
Ease of use
A VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud is a fully managed solution. Liquid Web takes care of the entire hosting infrastructure, all the hardware, and the cloud platform. This way, customers can focus on their internal software and platforms their websites or applications are built on.
Private network use cases
To further illustrate the benefits of a VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud, let us provide two popular private network examples that are a perfect fit for such an environment.
Example #1: Creating a robust mixed environment
There are often two variations of the same problem when it comes to application architecture: either all application segments and servers are split up into multiple VPSs, or they’re all lumped together in a single dedicated server. Neither environment is ideal.
A VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud environment is a great solution to the more robust architecture required for this private network example. Customers can request as many servers as needed to equalize their environment. For example, they can have a few load-balancing web servers, a separate database server, a reporting server, and more — all of which will be working together in the same private network environment.
What’s more, such an environment will remain scalable and flexible. It’s easy to assign additional resources as needed to any server without all the complicated VPS management. The customer will also only have to pay for the resources being used, which will likely result in significant cost savings compared to running servers in a dedicated environment.
Example #2: Providing services as a VAR
Value-added resellers (VARs) — whether they’re hosting companies, SaaS providers, web agencies, custom platforms, or integrators — can significantly improve their businesses and benefit greatly from switching to a VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud.
Instead of managing lots of VPSs, lumping their clients in a shared hosting environment, or using dedicated resources, VARs can create VMs for every new client, accelerating onboarding and remaining easily scalable at any level.
Liquid Web can also help VARs set up exact templates for every new virtual machine so that spinning off new ones takes as little time as possible and lots of clients can be onboarded at once.
All-in-one private cloud solution
Ready to move to a private network for better cost efficiency and scalability? Consider checking out our VMware Multi-Tenant Private Cloud hosting. If you have any questions, our friendly technicians are happy to assist you and suggest the best way to move your architecture over to VMware for improved scalability and cost-effectiveness.