Documentation restructuring: provide a useful overview.

[tripe] / manual / intro.texi

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+@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
+
+@c ----- That's all, folks --------------------------------------------------
+\f
+@c Local variables:
+@c mode: Texinfo
+@c TeX-PDF-mode: t
+@c TeX-master: "tripe"
+@c End: