VPN connection problems

jackrussell007

Hi folks

dunno if i should be here or in the windows forum.

I'm having problems with a VPN one of our engineers uses. He regularly uses this with his vodafone datacard. When he logs in to our network he uses Real VNC to remotee control his desktop pc. everything honkeydory except there is a bit of a delay when remote controlling.

for this reason we want him to use a eircom broadband line which is now available to him. It's a 3 mb line being shared by three or four users at an external site. He is not going through a firewall. when he uses this line the VPN fails to connect - remote computer failed to respond.

I've tried to ping our server from his laptop but it times out but I'm fairly sure our firewall is configured not to reply to a ping.

what else could cause this problem if not a firewall?

thanks

joePC

If the eircon line is plugged into their Netopia box then check the built in Firewall / settings etc... What VPN client are you using.

jackrussell007

Using the windows VPN client.

You're right I'll have to check out the built in firewall. this external site is within a multinational in the west. I thought initially they had just granted him access through their own firewall but I've been assured its a dedicated line. I'd forgotten that somewhere along teh line its still gonna hit a netopia box.

thanks for the help

joePC

No worries,

_CreeD_

What VPN protocol are you using, PPTP or L2TP/IPSEC?
Are you using NAT with multiple IPs or (more likely) PAT for translations at the remote site?
PPTP will break under PAT without specialised measures (newer revisions of GRE and or caller IDS on both sides).
L2TP/IPSEC will work IF both sides support an encapsulation method like NAT-T.

If he is the only one using the VPN at the remote site you could port-forward the protocols and ports necessary for the VPN type you use. If possible though see if you can create a site-site VPN instead between their office and the main site - if there is no Firewall at the remote site that is a pretty big security problem and getting a decent one with VPN capabilities would kill 2 birds with one stone.

tttoooeee

I strongly suggest you use OpenVPN as your VPN software, it's head and shoulders above the rest.

Once you've got OpenVPN working, you're going to have to enable a NAT pinohole for the relevant port on the router that routes into the network you're trying to access.