VPN & Mapped Drives

[kiw1]

Here's the brief summary: Server 2003, 4 HP laptops, setup from an image. Firewall/VPN is a Netscreen, client compters are using the netscreen client software to connect the vpn. Laptops running XP Pro.

Laptops are joined to a domain, with mapped drives. What I want to be able to do is access the drives when connected via the vpn, outside of the office, obviously.

I've been playing around on one of the laptops and got it to work. Configuring a WINS server seemed to do the trick. I'd also added entries to the LMHOSTS file. This computer has no trouble accessing the drives. It's reproducable, everytime. Doing what I did to that laptop, doesn't work on the other 3! At this point I'm really confused. If I set the DNS entry to point to the server, then they do work, but this obviously causes other issues.

Any thoughts as to what's going on? Maybe something to do with them being imaged?

Cheers

 

[PeterHurst]

Wins was the right answer...

Now why it doesn't work on the others.. I can only think of one thing, as you say DNS allowed it to work and I assume you configured WINS but that didn't work, have you made sure NETBIOS over IP is Enabled..

On the settings for the connection (you don't say if it's Microsoft VPN but I'll use that as an example) look at the properties for TCP/IP then advanced then WINS - obviously your WINS servers should be there, but also make sure NetBIOS is enabled.

It may be you have put the WINS servers in the wrong connection depending how your VPN works..

 

[kiw1]

Hi Peter,

The VPN is using a Netscreen/Juniper Firewall/VPN and its associated VPN software. I'm starting to suspect that the way the Netscreen has been configured may be an issue. I'm going back to the guy that set that up.

On the one laptop that does work, I've tried a different user, and it doesn't work for him. So, my suspicion is it's cached SOMETHING for the user that it does work for, and it's just luck.

Cheers.