Extranet

Extranet is a part of Intranet but its security or firewall is loosen in order to allow more related people like an organization or company's customers, partners, suppliers and for other businesses reason. Most of the time, extranet uses Internet connection to extend its network to the outside users. General users are still securely controled to have access into extranet and same to the extranet users, they would not be able to access into intranet as well.

The ability to limit the access into an extranet is usually used by sites that required a log-in ID of either free or paid. Unlike intranet, extranet is not tunneled through to provide only its employee to have access rather than "registered members". An extranet uses authentication mechanisms on their log-in page and sometimes a digital certificate is needed to access into the site.

Since extranet security is not as tight as intranet, giving out important information can be a big concern. Maintaining the system can also be a big headache as they may cost a lot. But by setting up an extranet, users can share their product catalogs with their potential customers, easier on exchanging large volumes of data, smoother collaboration on joint development with other companies and provide services or trainings as well as reporting their latest news exclusively.