>.... Also, the following link might be of some help:
>http://www.corecom.com/external/vpn/vpnfaq.htm

Yes, that's a lot of informative reading. I'll bookmark it.

>If all seven connections are coming in over the internet, you would probably need a 16 port router. If only two or three connections are coming in over the internet, and their is a local Lan for the rest that can be uplinked into the router, then a four/eight port router would probably be enough. You will probably need at least a cable/DSL always on connection to get good performance.

It's three LANs being tied together. The challenge is that the primary location is in a high-speed desert. All requests to cable, ISDN, DSL, etc. are met with 'Sorry, not at your location yet.'

Thanks for the info.