VPN Browsing with BEFSX41 Setup

[babolat]

I'm new to VPNs-have been struggling but finally have a connection between two W2K computers with a BEFSX41 on each end. Now I'm trying to figure our how to use it!

From researching this site it seems to me that I have a browsing problem inherent with Netbios on Windows 2000 (I haven't figured out how to browse files over the VPN connection). Our office uses a peer-to-peer network with Windows 2000 professional. The other end of the tunnel is also W2K Pro. Do I need to purchase Windows 2000 server? Or, to save $$$ is there another way to allow the browsing?

Also, my ISP uses DCHP where a static IP address is not available - will this be a problem?

Thanks for any help!

 

[John Lewis]

Really, you have the hard part done.

Let's address the address issue first. You don't absolutely have to have fixed ip addresses. It helps a lot, especially on the server end, but you can get along without them. Sometimes, even though DHCP is used, the ip's tend to be static anyway. You keep getting the same address over and over again, unless your ISP configures to make sure you get something different each time.

The only real problem is making the connection. You have to have an address to point your client to. If your ip is not static, you have to change the target ip on your client every time it changes. There are web sites that offer dynamic dns service which allows you to register your server so you can point your client to your-server.dyndns.com instead of using the ip. Some are free. Never used one, but if you point your favorite search engine to 'dynamic dns' should get several hits.

You don't need to buy W2K Server to browse. Your router does need to be able to pass netbios traffic, and I can't remeber which ones do and which ones don't. Most newer models do.

You need an lmhosts file. See thread463-442252, we have been through the important parts, so I won't give all the details again. Make sure you read the whole thread before you do anything, we have been putting it together a little at a time. The answers are there, but it's kinda spread out, so if you have any questions, post back.

Good luck!