Documentation restructuring: provide a useful overview.

[tripe] / manual / intro.texi

@c
@c Introduction to TrIPE
@c
@c (c) 2009 Straylight/Edgeware
@c

@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
@node Introduction, hack
@unnumbered Introduction

This chapter explains very briefly what TrIPE is and what this manual
aims to tell you about it.

@menu
* About TrIPE::                 What TrIPE is and what it does
* About this manual::           What this manual tries to do, and who
                                  should read it
@end menu

@node About TrIPE, About this manual, Introduction, Introduction
@unnumberedsec About TrIPE

TrIPE is a TrIPE is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) implementation.  It uses
cryptography to protect network packets from being read or tampered with
as they travel over hostile networks (e.g., the Internet).  The effect
of this is that you can connect together geographically-separated
networks of machines and use network protocols which would be unsafe to
use over public networks.

The name `TrIPE' stands for `Trivial IP Encryption'.  Unfortunately,
while the TrIPE network protocol is still fairly simple (and this is one
of TrIPE's conspicuous advantages over other VPN systems), the software
suite which implements it is not.  Over time, the original single server
has acquired strangely-shaped extensions and add-on-services in order to
solve various problems, and even given fairly detailed descriptions of
all of the individual pieces it can be difficult to see how to fit them
together in order to actually do anything useful.

The TrIPE software runs entirely in user mode.  It does not require any
kernel modifications.

@node About this manual,  , About TrIPE, Introduction
@unnumberedsec About this manual

This manual provides an overview of the TrIPE software suite.  The
individual components are described in their respective reference manual
pages.  This page exists to provide a picture for how the various pieces
fit together and how to use them effectively.  It presents a number of
worked examples, but it's not intended to be used as a `cookbook'; TrIPE
is a complicated system, and the author believes that you're less likely
to become confused by it if you understand how its various bits fit
together rather than following canned recipes which don't quite match
your particular circumstances.

This manual is intended for network administrators who are comfortable
with the fundamentals of IP networking and routing.  It assumes a
reasonable level of knowledge of how to configure network interfaces and
routing.  It doesn't assume a strong background in cryptography, though
a good grounding won't hurt; the author recommends the @cite{Handbook of
Applied Cryptography} by Alfred Menezes, Paul van Oorschott and Scott
Vanstone, which is published by CRC Press, or available online at
@url{http://FIXME}.

Unlike other Info manuals, this one isn't intended to be a complete
reference to the system.  That information is provided in traditional
Unix-style manual pages, which are easier to consult quickly.  Instead,
it provides a conceptual overview of the system together with examples
to help you get started.  

@node hack,  , Introduction
@chapter magic

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