New to VPN: iMac, iPhone, iPad connectivity

Question

I am new to VPN. I have used iTeleport and tried LogMeIn Ignition. But I want to know how to do it myself. I look at my VPN settings on my iPhone or iPad and I don't know what any of it means. Ultimately I want to at least be able to use my home sharing in iTunes while away. I also want to learn how to tap in to the full power of VPN.

Answer 1

...Ultimately I want to at least be able to use my home sharing in iTunes while away.
If this is really your ultimate goal, then perhaps use something like [Streamtome|http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streamtome/id325327899?mt=8]. You run a small app on the computer that has your iTunes library. Additionally, Streamtome can adjust video playback for slower connections. And unlike iTunes Home Sharing, you can also view your home iPhoto library on your iPhone. I use Streamtome on my iPad to view my Windows Media Center DVR recording (something not possible with iTunes Home Sharing.)
...I also want to learn how to tap in to the full power of VPN.
If you still want to learn about VPNs, then I recommend you learn about networking in general. You said that you didn't know what any of the settings mean. With more networking knowledge, you can make better guesses with the settings, and learn by trial-and-error. I am mostly self taught with VPNs, with a LOT of trial-and-error. I was fortunate enough to have worked at places where I could "play" with building test networks. So along the way, I learned how to build VPNs. But I don't think I could have learned about VPNs without being comfortable with networking. (Or at least it would have been a much steeper learning curve.)
With my VPN, I can access everything on my home computers, but I often have to do that by specifying the machine's IP address. (e.g.: Finder, Go menu, Connect to server, afp://192.168.1.5/Macintosh HD, instead of "Browse".) I'd need to setup my DNS correctly to avoid having to specify by IP address, but just haven't bothered to make the time to set it up the way I want. I can easily imagine that someone that wasn't comfortable with networking would call this "broken", while I consider it "useful" but far from perfect.
While I do have the "full power of VPN", having VPN access is just the beginning. You quickly learn that without gigabit LAN speeds (or even 802.11n speeds), often your remote access experience is not as satisfying. As in my example above, if I were to try to view a movie or video podcast in iTunes through Home Sharing over a VPN, it would probably be pausing/stuttering unacceptably on a 3G connection. Even a Wi-Fi hotspot still has to deal with the upload speed of your home internet. (Most home internet connection have much slower upload speeds than download speeds.) So something like Streamtome is better because it will automatically lower the bitrate & quality for slower connections.
So learning VPNs for the sake of learning is not bad. (In fact, it's usually a good thing.) But as I interpret your goal, having a VPN is just a part of the overall experience for you.