What is the role of a VPN concentrator in a network?

• A. It routes traffic between VLANs.
• B. It manages secure tunnels for remote access and site-to-site VPNs.
• C. It encrypts all traffic with RSA.
• D. It functions as a firewall.

Answer: (B)

A VPN concentrator is designed to centralize and manage VPN connections, terminating and establishing secure tunnels, handling authentication, and negotiating the encryption parameters for those tunnels. This is essential for both remote-access VPNs (users connecting from outside) and site-to-site VPNs (two networks linking securely). By concentrating these tasks, it provides scalable, efficient VPN processing and consistent policy enforcement.

Routing traffic between VLANs is the job of a router or layer-3 switch, not a VPN concentrator. Encrypting all traffic with RSA isn’t how VPNs operate—the bulk encryption inside VPN tunnels typically uses algorithms like AES or 3DES, with RSA used mainly for key exchange or digital signatures rather than blanket encryption. And while some devices include firewall features, a VPN concentrator’s primary purpose is not functioning as a firewall.