VPN's ssl

Hey all, I know this may be a lil off topic, but at the office I need to set up a VPN to connect to a business partner using SSL, then have our 12 branch offices connect to our server and and pull data from it a few times a day. I've spent the last week reading everything I can find about this tech, Its new to me I'm suppose to be a programmer. So I'm here asking if anyone can lead me to any sites that may help educate me and to see if anyone can recommend any good and cheap small appliances for the branch offices usually between 2 and 8 pc's at each branch office. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I once implemented SSL-Explorer and really liked it. The price is right, too! (It's an open source project)

 

Thanks Mada_Milty, I'll look into that. I'm still open to suggestions if anyone else has any don't be shy.

 

Roland,

I'm not sure if this is the kind of thing you're looking for but Hamachi has been awesome for all of my VPN needs. It's free so it'd be worth checking out at least