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444 Chapter 7 • Topologies and IDS

The following is an example of how two companies might each choose to
implement an extranet solution for their mutual betterment. Company A makes
door stoppers and has recently entered into a joint agreement with Company B.
Company B makes cardboard boxes. By partnering together, both companies are
hoping to achieve some form of financial gain. Company A is now able to get
cardboard boxes (which it needs to ship its product) made faster, cheaper, and to
exact specification; Company B benefits from newfound revenue from Company
A. Everybody wins and both companies are very happy.After some time, both
companies realize that they could streamline this process even more if they each
had access to certain pieces of data about the other company. For example,
Company A wants to keep track of when its cardboard boxes will be arriving.
Company B, on the other hand, wants to be able to control box production by
looking at how many orders for door stoppers Company A has.What these two
companies need is an extranet. By implementing an extranet solution, both compa-
nies will be able to get the specific data they need to make their relationship even
more profitable, without either company having to grant full, unrestricted access to
its private internal network. Figure 7.9 graphically depicts this extranet solution.

Figure 7.9 A Simple Extranet Example
By implementing an extranet solution, users outside of the internal
network can access certain information across the Internet without
the need for a dedicated line.

Internet
Company B
Company A Firewall Firewall

Users attempting to gain access to an extranet require some form of authentica-
tion before they are allowed access to resources.The type of access control imple-
mented can vary, but some of the more common include usernames/passwords and
digital certificates. Once an extranet user has been successfully authenticated, they
can gain access to the resources that are allowed for their access level. In the pre-
vious example, a user from Company B’s production department might need to see
information about the number of door stoppers being ordered, while a user from
Company A’s shipping department might need to see information detailing when
the next shipment of boxes is expected.

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