vpn for small office

[daveman007]

which would be better? use an existing LINKSYS CABLE/DSL ROUTER AND FORWARD 1723 to a MS VPN server, or just use the LINKSYS CABLE/DSL VPN ROUTER. I would be connecting from home using dial then connecting.
thanks

 

[MattWray]

I have found in my experiences the Linksys will not forward VPN traffic, due to it does not recognize IP protocol 47, GRE. Others have siad they got it to work, this is just my experience with it. I'd go with the VPN router, as I know they work because I have one working right in front of me... Thanks,

Matt Wray

http://www.netcomtec.com

http://www.total-tec.com

 

[daveman007]

with the VPN Router I don't need anything else? Does it act as the server or do i still need a VPN server behind it to log onto the LAN?

 

[MattWray]

The VPN endpoints "join" together. They set up a trust between the 2 networks so you can work as if you are right there. We have an endpoint here at our office in Houston that connects to our HQ in DC, which is where our Mail server is. The only problem is when the VPN occasionally goes down, we have to use the webmail... Thanks,

Matt Wray

http://www.netcomtec.com

http://www.total-tec.com

 

[markku]

Hold your horses!

If you are using dial-up I would suggest PPTP and your existing router with port forwarding. PPTP pasthru enabled sure works - and is free.

If you buy VPN-router you need VPN-client = SSH Sentinel, which costs you more than the router, unless you can get hold of version pre 1.4, which was free for personal use.

 

[daveman007]

I HOOKED up the vpn router...all configured, trying to get into it from a dialup connection using winxp, tries to connect but fails. I can see it trying to connect at the router end, but no luck. Security problems?
thanks

 

[dticwh]

We use both the Linksys routers VPN and MS VPN. With Linksys, we have two VPN router and just setup the security between the two of them - pretty simple. Then, they are always connected and I always have access to the other office. On one of those routers, we have 1723 routed to the MS VPN server and the pptp enabled on the advanced tab of the router. That allows others that can only use MS VPN to access the network.

 

[daveman007]

dticwh,
I think your setup best fit my case, just one thing, if you forward 1723 to the VPN you have to disable the DHCP, and everyone trying to access the internet from the LAN has problems, also if you get logged in to a VPN this way should you be able to view the entire office LAN or just shares on that PC. I am getting close thank you all for the advice.

 

[rcasta]

Could any one post a basic VPN router(whatever manufacturer) configuration?

Thank you.

 

[dticwh]

daveman007,

In my example, you would run dhcp from the MS-VPN server (running w2k or NT) and any internal people that need dhcp would get it from that server. It also handles dhcp for those that use pptp to coonect to the network. This is exactly how we have it setup. My home pc uses pptp and 1723 is forwarded to the w2k MS-VPN server for login an authentication. Our other offices use the linksys router VPN connections for an always on VPN between them.