a little help

[majeric]

hi, i need some help. here is the situation. i have a d-link di-624 wireless router. i have about 4 computers on this network. what i want to be able to do is to add another computer from outside this network to this network. i.e remote access. i want to be able to map a drive to that computer and vise versa. how can i do this. do i need to set up a vpn? if so how do i go about doing that and what would i need to do?

thanks

 

[Tels]

The safest and most secure way is via VPN, but if you want an alternative (albeit much less secure - you HAVE been warned) you can do the following:

On the machine which is outside the network, open the firewall to port 445. 445 is the port on which a protocol called SMB (Server Message Block) runs, AKA Windows File Sharing.

Now - be wary, because once this port is open the machine is exposed to all manner of attacks, however if you have a half decent firewall, you can specify that only certain IP's can connect to that port (for example, only your office computers) and packets which are bound for port 445 from any other source will be rejected.

this process can be run in reverse to give the remote computer access to a fileshare on one of your office PC's, but if you want my heartfelt advice, VPN is a MUCH safer, permanent and robust solution.

Terry-Lee Blay
MCP, A+, Net+, Server+, APS, IBM Thinkpads/Portables
webwarrior@angelfire.com

 

[majeric]

how do i go about setting up a vpn? what would i need? etc

 

[Tels]

Having done a google search on your model of router, I find that it has a PPTP (VPN) pass-through ability.

What this means is that if you set up a VPN server (eg Win2000 Server)and connect it to your D-Link router, you can access the VPN server remotely using a Win2000/XP client.

Obviously if you don't have the cash or inclination to set up a Win2000 Server, you can look at alternative products, for example Smoothwall, (which I use) but be aware that different manufacturers tend to implement VPN in different ways, and they won't always interoperate. For that reason it is best to check compatibility first.

Have a look at smoothwall first, to get an idea of whats involved at

http://www.smoothwall.org

(free GPL version)&

http://www.smoothwall.co.uk

(better corporate version,)

But be sure to research other VPN solutions, i.e. Win2000 etc etc.

If by now you're really scratching your head, fear not! It really isn't too hard to make work.

Let us know if you need any more info.

Best of luck

Terry-Lee Blay
MCP, A+, Net+, Server+, APS, IBM Thinkpads/Portables
webwarrior@angelfire.com

 

[majeric]

i have downloaded the iso from smoothwall. what do i do with it now? it says it'll erase everything off the hd, i have a spare comp i can install it on and then what do i need to do?

 

[Tels]

Smoothwall is basically an OS in it's own right (FreeBSD based to be precise) and it WILL erase the whole drive.

Provided all the hardware in the machine is supported by the Smoothwall OS (the vast majority of standard PC hardware is) it will install itself and then guide you through the network set-up.

Remember that Smoothwall is meant, first and foremost, to be a firewall appliance. Therefore the best set up would be to connect it directly to your ADSL/Internet connection and then connect the network to a seperate network card, so that it sits directly between your network and the internet, and all your internet-bound network traffic flows through it.

You will then be able to configure VPN, provided you have another smoothwall (with a matching VPN configuration) to connect to remotely.

The smoothwall website has some superb documentation on how to configure it all, I suggest you take a look.

Best of luck

Terry-Lee Blay
MCP, A+, Net+, Server+, APS, IBM Thinkpads/Portables
webwarrior@angelfire.com