Remote Access Users - Mobile VPN
Remote access users or Mobile users
Remote access users are end users and employees who access their corporate network remotely. This would be via a VPN client. On the remote user's laptop VPN client software would be installed, which a remote user would use to connect to their VPN gateway at the corporate site over the internet. Initially when the client software is installed on a laptop, it would require setting up, so that it knows how to reach the corporate VPN gateway and how to encrypt and authenticate to it as well as other parameters.
Usually the VPN client software also consists of a firewall protecting them as well as the corporate network from outside threats. After all a remote user with a laptop can be a threat to the corporate network. The laptop may contain viruses and trojans. So for this reason a firewall is required mainly to protect the corporate network, as well as the remote user's laptop.
Also many VPN servers now come with the ability to control their end user's via network access control. For example if the laptop is not on the latest windows patch, is not up to date with the newest anti virus dat files, has not got a certain application running, then the laptop is not allowed access to the corporate network.
Further Reading
Wikipedia's guide to Remote Access