I need a little help in find a VPN solution for a friends work place.
Currently they have 2 NT4 servers runing databases, HTTP, Email with 8 workstations behind it. One of the servers is their domain controller and also handles DHCP. They have a remote office with 4 workstations. Their workstations are a mix of NT4, 2000 Pro and XP Pro. They also have a VPN setup which they want to replace.
Their current VPN setup is site to site using Netscreen. Netscreen in their remote office is setup for DHCP as they only have 1 ip address from their ISP. Also, Netscreen is slow as dirt, drops connections and when transfering large files it drops connections and doesn't pass NETBIOS.
They have their ISP managing the setup but it's new to them also so the support is just plain bad. So bad that they asked me if I could help.
I setup a remote connection from home to their VPN and when I had problems accessing any resources, their ISP told me that they couldn't help as I can make a connection to the Netscreen VPN. That might be fine, but I have no idea on how they configured Netscreen. When I asked them for the configuration, they were clueless.
Eventually I was able to map a drive, but it took forever. So I wanted to see what kind of speed I was getting with this connection. I have a 768K SDSL and the office has a Full T1. To my suprise, the connections just sucked! I was getting a slow dialup speed of 33.6k! Well this lead me to look for a new solution for them.
They want to be able to browse the network in thier network neighborhood without have to worry about setting up a host file or WINS as they do not have any IT support. So can anyone make a suggestion on a different low cost VPN setup?
I was looking at Netgear FVM318 for their remote office and the FVL328 for the main office, but I don't know if it will pass NetBIOS for them to browse their network. Also, from the posts I've seen here, it maybe a little to much to talk them thru a setup in their remote office. Now if you feel Netgear is a viable solution, please let me know. If you have any other suggestions, it's welcome also as I am clueless on setting up a VPN.
TIA.
Currently they have 2 NT4 servers runing databases, HTTP, Email with 8 workstations behind it. One of the servers is their domain controller and also handles DHCP. They have a remote office with 4 workstations. Their workstations are a mix of NT4, 2000 Pro and XP Pro. They also have a VPN setup which they want to replace.
Their current VPN setup is site to site using Netscreen. Netscreen in their remote office is setup for DHCP as they only have 1 ip address from their ISP. Also, Netscreen is slow as dirt, drops connections and when transfering large files it drops connections and doesn't pass NETBIOS.
They have their ISP managing the setup but it's new to them also so the support is just plain bad. So bad that they asked me if I could help.
I setup a remote connection from home to their VPN and when I had problems accessing any resources, their ISP told me that they couldn't help as I can make a connection to the Netscreen VPN. That might be fine, but I have no idea on how they configured Netscreen. When I asked them for the configuration, they were clueless.
Eventually I was able to map a drive, but it took forever. So I wanted to see what kind of speed I was getting with this connection. I have a 768K SDSL and the office has a Full T1. To my suprise, the connections just sucked! I was getting a slow dialup speed of 33.6k! Well this lead me to look for a new solution for them.
They want to be able to browse the network in thier network neighborhood without have to worry about setting up a host file or WINS as they do not have any IT support. So can anyone make a suggestion on a different low cost VPN setup?
I was looking at Netgear FVM318 for their remote office and the FVL328 for the main office, but I don't know if it will pass NetBIOS for them to browse their network. Also, from the posts I've seen here, it maybe a little to much to talk them thru a setup in their remote office. Now if you feel Netgear is a viable solution, please let me know. If you have any other suggestions, it's welcome also as I am clueless on setting up a VPN.
TIA.