Stupid questions from a newbie

[LilC]

Okay, I think I need to set up a VPN, and it will have to be via internet on ADSL connections. I need networked drive letter access for some of my programs. Will VPN allow this?
If not, how would I go about getting "LAN Network" files/drive sharing over a ADSL/internet/WAN set up?

I can not for the life of me find a book on what I need to do to make a vpn, I just have books upon books that tell me what one is - sort of. Im new to networking and am more of a hardware guy, so this is an area of major learning for me.

Can anyone reccomend a book that will walk me through who what how when why and so forth on setting up and configuring VPN clients, servers, and etc?

Thanks in adavance
From the dumb newbie
Lil C

 

[gargoyle]

I suggest to u that u need to know what kind of vnp do you want to implement!

manufacturers have different ways to configure VPNs, first decide what manufacture do you want to implement VPN then use the instalation manual of your product to intall and deploy VPNs!

 

[LilC]

So then you cant use the VPN part of windows? Such as 2000 etc?
So where do I find a book that fills me in on these details I need to learn?
Thanks again
Lil C

 

[Marcs41]

Yes you can setup a VPN with Windows, all versions.
Yes you can map a drive letter to a shared folder through the tunnel (only active when tunnel is up of course).
How to set ip up is a very brad question, Post your settings, network and OS's first. If the solution is out there, let us know it was helpful, so others can benefit from it as well..

 

[LilC]

Most of the machines that will access it are win98SE machines, but the possibliities of 2000 and XP are growing rapidly as I get closer to blowing up some of the current machines we have. I assume we will need 2000 Pro to set up as a server and a dedicated IP connection to out DSL right?
Man I wish I could find a book or somehting that has some grahical representations and stuff on HOW TO DO IT rather than what it is. You would think a book specifically for networking might address it a bit better. Anyway, I guess plan on Win98SE clients and if we need to up grade, then we do... I just would rather not have to spend more money if its not necessary.

Thanks again...
Lil C

 

[Marcs41]

Search

http://www.google.com

for VPN, you would be surprised what you find online.
Real-life scenarios are usually better then a book's theory.
As a VPN server, you need 2000 Server, not Pro. If the solution is out there, let us know it was helpful, so others can benefit from it as well..

 

[LilC]

Well my searches so far have pickup just beyond my scope of knowledge, so Ill have to see if I can find more that what I was finding initially. Somedays you just wish there was an "easy" answer.... But what fun would life be with out its little challenges.
If anyone has a reccomendation of a book for this type of stuff, id love to hear about it.

 

[Marcs41]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0764505904/wkmntrainingA/104-1225924-3275947

http://compnetworking.about.com/library/weekly/aa010701a.htm

http://www.homenethelp.com/vpn/

http://www.wkmn.com/newsite/vpn.html

http://www.vpn411.com/learning/

http://www.tutorgig.com/showurls.jsp?group=7746&index=0

http://www.cyplex.com/vpn.html

And so on ... If the solution is out there, let us know it was helpful, so others can benefit from it as well..

 

[John Lewis]

Well, I'll toss in 2¢ here, too.

As was stated earlier in this thread, you can set up any recent version of Windows as a VPN server. Windows client to Windows server is not difficult. Routers, firewalls, routing and the like will give more problems than the actual VPN. You don't have to have to work with an internet connection to try it out, you can set up a VPN between two computers on the same network to get your feet wet. Take a look at

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/w2k/w2k_vpn/w2k_vpn.htm.

Not my page, but the guy has done a really good job. Took me a minute to figure out that the start button at the top of the page is the navigation button. Too simple, I suppose.

On another note, just because you can use any version of Windows doesn't mean you should. If you are trying to connect one client to one computer, you should be ok using that one machine as a server. If you have more clients, or if you want to give access to a larger portion of the network, I think you should look to something else. A Windows server should do fine. If you don't want to put out the money, there are several appliance devices available, as well as several good linux solutions. Personally prefer the linux solutions (even over the M$), but that is what I work with.

 

[LilC]

Thanks for the list of stuff guys.. Maybe I can learn enough about this stuff I can hit you with "good" questions next time
Lil C