Need to set up something complex involving VPN

yukichigai

Diamond Member
Apr 23, 2003
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At work we have a VPN-enabled router -- Netgear ProSafe VPN FVS318 -- that the boss uses to connect from home. I'd like to be able to connect from home as well, and I have an advanced VPN client (TheGreenBow) which will let me do so on my computer. (The built-in XP client is unable to connect) The only problem is that it doesn't appear to be compatible with XP x64, which is what my main computer is running. Furthermore, I could theoretically need to connect other machines besides the main computer to the work network, particularly my laptop, so I'm thinking it'd be easier to just link my network and the work network together via VPN. Now I really have no clue where to start on this since I can't go out and purchase the router we have at work, but I'm wondering if I can do some trickery with my VPN Client, a computer running a Server OS, and the Static Routing table on my router. Here's kind of what I was thinking:

192.168.X.0/24 - Work Network
192.168.Y.0/24 - My Network

Set up a computer running Server 2k/2k3 on my home network, which will also run the VPN Client and connect to the work network automatically.

Set up the Static Routing table on my Router (a Linksys WRT54GC for refference) to route all traffic to 192.168.X.0/24 through the Server's IP address, specifying it as a gateway.

...profit?


The thing is that I'm sure there's some steps and extra configuration in there that I'm missing, probably something on the Server computer's routing table that changes where requests to 192.168.Y.0/24 go through, among other things. I've not found any guides on doing anything like this, probably because most sane people would just give up and buy the damn proprietary router. Ahh, but see, I'm crazy-go-nuts. Lucky me.

Anybody have any clue how to do what I'm describing?
 

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
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You can create a site-to-site VPN, with a VPN server at your home connecting to a VPN server at the office. That will give both networks access to each other (if you allow it).

I have zero experience with hardware VPN routers (they don't interface nicely with ISA 2004-protected networks), so I can't tell you how to do this with the router you have. I know it works fine with Server-to-Server VPNs. I imagine there's a way to do it with two hardware VPN routers.
 

yukichigai

Diamond Member
Apr 23, 2003
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Originally posted by: RebateMonger
You can create a site-to-site VPN, with a VPN server at your home connecting to a VPN server at the office. That will give both networks access to each other (if you allow it).

I have zero experience with hardware VPN routers (they don't interface nicely with ISA 2004-protected networks), so I can't tell you how to do this with the router you have. I know it works fine with Server-to-Server VPNs. I imagine there's a way to do it with two hardware VPN routers.
The VPN Router at work doesn't allow VPN Pass-thru, since it has hardware VPN support. (funny how that works) There's a way to do it with hardware routers, but I'm not going to blow $100 of my own money to get the specific router I need to do it. If work would pay it'd be another story. The only option is to use the client I have, which does work... just not on my main computer.
 

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
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Well, if you use Windows XP Professional at work, you can use Windows Remote Desktop, if you forward your chosen Remote Desktop port to your PC at work. Basically, almost anything you can do with a VPN, you can also do with Remote Desktop. Some tasks are faster and some are slower.