Tech keeps moving fast. Stuff like VPNs and VRPNs isn’t exactly new, but more users are using them now—and for very different reasons.
VPNs blew up thanks to growing concerns about privacy and tracking. People want to keep their online lives to themselves. VRPNs? Whole different story. They link VR headsets and input devices, mainly for multi-user or lab setups.
Funny thing—these acronyms look almost the same. That’s where the confusion starts. But they’re totally different tools with completely separate use cases.
What Is VPN and What’s It Used For?
VPNs. You’ve probably used one—or at least heard someone swear by them.
It’s short for Virtual Private Network. Basically, it keeps your online stuff private. Your IP? Hidden. Your traffic? Encrypted. Good luck to anyone trying to snoop.
The history of VPN? It started with some pretty shaky protocols. Back in the late ’90s, businesses needed a way for remote workers to connect without exposing the whole network. PPTP was the first real shot at it—worked okay, but had holes. Then IPsec and SSL came in, fixed a bunch of that.
Now they’re everywhere. In apps. Routers. Even your browser might have one baked in. People use them for all sorts of stuff—streaming, privacy, or just avoiding their ISP’s creepy tracking.
Ever checked your bank account on airport Wi-Fi? Without a VPN? Yeah… don’t.
A VPN can be used for:
- Protecting the devices from hacking
- Preventing signal interception
- Accessing geo-restricted content
- Protecting devices when using public or open Wi-Fi connections
A VPN masks your IP. Instead of connecting to websites directly, your traffic goes through a VPN server. So the site sees the VPN’s IP, not yours.
Everything’s encrypted too. If someone’s snooping, they won’t see much—just scrambled data.
VPNs use different protocols to handle this stuff. PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN—some old, some better. Depends on the provider. VPN software usually comes in three different forms:
- Free VPN
- Enterprise VPN
- VPN for personal use
Although using a free VPN service might seem appealing, it is the least secure form of VPN out there. It offers limited features, limited security, a limited number of servers, and slow connection speed. Purchasing a subscription is the best option because it ensures that the user’s devices are always protected.
Following the same principle, companies should invest in enterprise VPNs. Enterprise VPNs were created with companies’ needs in mind, and they offer the most comprehensive security features that every company should invest in.
What Is VRPN and What’s It Used For?
VRPN stands for Virtual Reality Peripheral Network, and it is a network-based tool that is not dependent on any digital device. It is usually used for accessing VR peripherals in various virtual reality applications.
This tool was developed to enable users to have a unified interface to input controllers, motion trackers, joysticks, etc. In conclusion, VRPN is used to encode and send 6DoF capture data through a network.
These are some of the features of VRPN:
- Accessing multiple peripheral devices simultaneously
- Automatically reconnecting to failed servers
- Data time-stamping
- Storage
- Session playback
There are two main ways of establishing a connection with a VRPN server – over TCP or UDP. TCP is the reliable one—but it’s slower. UDP is faster, but not as dependable.
Most VPNs lean on UDP because it’s quicker. Some setups still use both, depending on what’s needed.
This is how it works:
- The client opens a TCP socket.
- The client transmits the socket’s port number, including the name of the user’s device, in a UDP diagram. The data is sent to a VRPN server port.
- The server connects to the client over TCP, using the port number it got earlier.
- Once the TCP connection has been established, each of the connected devices communicates the supported VPRN version.
- Then, each of the devices listens on a new UDP port and communicates the port number to the second device by utilizing the former TCP connection.
- Then, all the data is transferred over the two UDP ports that were opened during the process.
Similarities and Differences Between VPN and VRPN
Sure, the acronyms are close—but that’s where the similarities end. But, they do have some similarities. Both VPNs and VRPNs are used to provide a connection between devices and use the same network protocols for sending data packets – TCP and UDP.
Both can be used across many platforms and devices, and both utilize similar clients and server types. The biggest similarity lies in the fact that both VPN and VRPN are some of the most popular ways of connecting different devices and applications.
So yes, they’re used for different things. A VPN adds a layer of security and helps keep your browsing private. In contrast, VPRNs are used as device servers for accessing and connecting multiple virtual reality sets at once.
While VPNs can be used to protect the user’s virtual reality sets, such as Oculus, VPRNs are used exclusively for virtual reality products and tools and can’t be used to connect other types of devices. Doesn’t matter if you’re on Windows, Linux, or macOS—both VPNs and VRPNs can run on all of them.
VPNs and VRPNs are beneficial, both in their own respective ways. VPNs deal with security—keeping your connection private.
VRPNs? Different story. They’re built for talking to multiple VR devices at once.
Sure, the names sound alike. But what they do? Not even close.
