Archived from groups: comp.dcom.vpn (
More info?)
Alan Bell wrote:
> It appears that I have a Netgear FVS318. I had actually forgotten about it.
> I bought it a while ago when I similarly had VPN on my mind. I couldn't
> figure out how to install it so I put it on the shelf and forgot about it.
> Currently I have a Netgear RT311 router in operation. I assume the FVS318
> goes in place of it. But then what?
>
> And one more thing that I'm still not clear on. Using a VPN (or PC Anywhere
> for that matter), will I be able to, for example, use my laptop in Thailand
> which does *not* have Photoshop, to access my computer in Los Angeles which
> *does* have Photoshop to open Photoshop and manipulate an image which is on
> my laptop in Thailand just as if I was working on that image at my office in
> Los Angeles?
>
> Or is VPN (or PC Anywhere) just about file sharing......or being able to
> operate programs that are specifically have "network versions."
On a quick glance over the Netgear FVS318 specs it appears that you can
use that one to establish an IPsec based VPN to it from your laptop.
You'd have to doublecheck the manual to see how it's set up, as I'm not
familiar with netgear at all.
With a VPN your laptop will appear as part of your home network, i.e.
it'll have access to all file shares, printers and other network
equipment in your home LAN. The units on your LAN also have access to
your laptops files (presuming they're shared in one way or another).
A few sanitized examples from our own shop:
We have an office LAN which is totally inaccessible from the internet.
The firewall does not allow traffic in or out. We also have people who
travel around a lot and need access to the office files, printers,
network fax and whatnot. Let's say the office network has 10.0.0.0/24.
The clients connect to our VPN gateway and get a static IP. As soon as
they connect, they attach a few drives to the server:
U: to \\server\users\johndoe
P: to \\server\applications
S: to \\server\commonfiles
They also now have access to some printers in the office:
\\printserver\netfax
\\printserver\laser
So, now they can open and use applications on drive P: (an office suite
for example), read and write files to their user drive, and depending on
permissions also read/write files on drive S: .
Some applications need to be installed on their computer, to get all the
registry keys and some shared files in place. I haven't found any app
that puked on installing it to the network drive, but we don't have
photoshop, so I can't tell you if that will work or not.
A fair warning: If the internet connection (uplink AND downlink) on both
sides isn't very fast, working over a VPN like this is going to be
painful. VERY painful. After all, Windows has to load the whole app
including all the DLL's over your internet link in that case. Once it
has it, it'll be fast though.
Now an example for remote desktop control (like PC Anywhere, VNC or MS
Terminal Service):
I occasionally need to help a store clerk figure out why something or
another doesn't work on their back office machine. In this case I use
VNC to connect to their desktop and take control of it. I can see their
screen, see what they see, and generally control their machine if I
chose to do so. However, their machine has no access to files on my
machine, neither do I really have access to their files, other than
being able to transfer them via VNC from/to my machine. Applications on
my machine have no idea that I can see their desktop. For me it's
strictly a way to have a look at their machine without having to fly a
few thousand miles. Not to mention that even over a very fast link it
still feels somewhat sluggish, because screen updates have to be
transferred to me - and even in our LAN, that often takes a second or
two. Especially if you think about working with graphical apps like
photoshop I'd imagine that would be unpleasant, to say the least.
As you see, two totally different things. VPN is all about logically
placing remote machines (or networks) into one (logical) LAN.
Remote control is more about controlling another machine, without
linking ressources. The lines are a little blurry there, as there are
software packages who DO map drives, printers and the like as well.
What's best for you is hard to tell. I personally like the convenience
offered by a VPN and the encryption inherent in most VPN solutions. On
the other hand I do like remote control software for troubleshooting
purposes, but find it too sluggish for everyday work.
Hope this gives you some ideas
Jen