Domain name system based VPN management

1. A method comprising:

determining, by observing network behavior of networking devices within a private network, characteristics of the private network corresponding to a virtual private network (VPN) node, the characteristics of the private network including a policy of the private network and identification of equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node, the characteristics of the private network being determined when a user device at which the VPN node is being established is at a local network location;

generating VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network, wherein the VPN data is gathered, by a domain name system (DNS) server, for building and maintaining the VPN node of the private network through a public network, the VPN data including at least one of the policy of the private network for establishing the VPN node and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

maintaining, by the DNS server, the VPN data, at the DNS server, as part of a DNS table;

providing a portion of the VPN data as part of a DNS view of the DNS table from the DNS server to a client device coupled to the public network;

determining, by the client device coupled to the public network, a VPN mode indicating a manner to establish the VPN node of the private network for the client device through the public network using the portion of the VPN data;

establishing, by the client device coupled to the public network, the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data;

maintaining, by the client device coupled to the public network, the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node through encryption and encapsulation of data in VPN packets.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node using dedicated equipment within the public network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node through a combination of encryption and encapsulation of data in VPN packets and use of dedicated equipment within the public network.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining characteristics of the private network corresponding to the VPN node, wherein the characteristics of the private network include the policy of the private network and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

generating the VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a unique cipher from the client device to the DNS server;

determining the portion of the VPN data to provide as part of the DNS view based on the unique cipher.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the cipher is unique to a user of the client device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VPN data is gathered automatically by crawling lists of data related to network operation of network devices of the private network.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VPN data is associated with a domain name, for use in providing the portion of the VPN data as part of the DNS view of the DNS table to the client device in response to a DNS query.

10. A system comprising:

a domain name system (DNS) server for processing, the DNS server including memory and one or more processors, configured to:

determine, by observing network behavior of networking devices within a private network, characteristics of the private network corresponding to a virtual private network (VPN) node, the characteristics of the private network including a policy of the private network and identification of equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node, the characteristics of the private network being determined when a user device at which the VPN node is being established is at a local network location;

generate VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network, wherein the VPN data is gathered for building and maintaining the VPN node of the private network through a public network, the VPN data including at least one of the policy of the private network for establishing the VPN node and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

maintain the VPN data, at the DNS server, as part of a DNS table;

provide a portion of the VPN data as part of a DNS view of the DNS table to a client device;

a VPN mode determination engine at the client device coupled to the public network, the VPN mode determination engine being configured to determine a VPN mode indicating a manner to establish the VPN node of the private network for the client device through the public network using the portion of the VPN data;

a data routing engine at the client device coupled to the public network, the data routing engine being configured to:

establish the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data;

maintain the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data when the client device is coupled to the public network.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node through encryption and encapsulation of data in VPN packets.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node using dedicated equipment within the public network.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the VPN mode specifies to establish and maintain the VPN node through a combination of encryption and encapsulation of data in VPN packets and use of dedicated equipment within the public network.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the DNS server is further configured to:

determine characteristics of the private network corresponding to the VPN node, wherein the characteristics of the private network include the policy of the private network and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

generate the VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the DNS server is further configured to:

determine, by observing network behavior of networking devices within the private network, characteristics of the private network corresponding to the VPN node, wherein the characteristics of the private network include the policy of the private network and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

generate the VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network.

16. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a VPN data determination engine provided at the client device and configured to provide a unique cipher to the DNS server from the client device, wherein the DNS server is further configured to determine the portion of the VPN data to provide as part of the DNS view based on the unique cipher.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the DNS server is further configured to gather the VPN data automatically by crawling lists of data related to network operation of network devices of the private network.

18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the VPN data is associated with a domain name, for use in providing the portion of the VPN data as part of the DNS view of the DNS table to the client device in response to a DNS query.

19. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out a method comprising:

determining, by observing network behavior of networking devices within a private network, characteristics of the private network corresponding to a virtual private network (VPN) node, the characteristics of the private network including a policy of the private network and identification of equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node, the characteristics of the private network being determined when a user device at which the VPN node is being established is at a local network location;

generating VPN data based on the characteristics of the private network, wherein the VPN data is gathered, by a domain name system (DNS) server, for building and maintaining the VPN node of the private network through a public network, the VPN data including at least one of the policy of the private network for establishing the VPN node and the identification of the equipment to communicate with in establishing the VPN node;

maintaining, by the DNS server, the VPN data, at the DNS server, as part of a DNS table;

providing a portion of the VPN data as part of a DNS view of the DNS table from the DNS server to a client device coupled to the public network;

determining, by the client device coupled to the public network, a VPN mode indicating a manner to establish the VPN node of the private network for the client device through the public network using the portion of the VPN data;

establishing, by the client device coupled to the public network, the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data;

maintaining, by the client device coupled to the public network, the VPN node of the private network according to the VPN mode using the portion of the VPN data.