Browsing a Network Via VPN Connection
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I posted this in the now-uninhabited RootAdmin site, but I don't really expect a response and hope for better here. To wit: At work we have a local network with 15 or so PCs and a couple of network printers connected to a 24 port switch, thence connected to the outside world via a SonicWall firewall. Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources. I had our IT guy set it up for me for my last trip out of town, and I fired it up from my hotel room. All I could see in Windows Explorer was a single Shared folder - nothing else was visible. I checked with the IT guru today and he told me that I could connect to anything I want to, so long as I know the IP address or network name, but that it's impossible to set up the VPN to support browsing and a Network Neighborhood-style view on the remote computer. I don't think I believe that, but since I haven't worked on PCs and networks for a living in about 10 years, I haven't kept up with what MS has been doing to make life less convenient lately. Can someone familiar with using and configuring VPN connections confirm or deny that what I want to do is possible? Better yet, can someone tell me how to set it up? If it matters, we have servers on the network, but we aren't configured as a domain and don't use Active Directory. Thanks, as always!
Will Rogers never met me.
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I posted this in the now-uninhabited RootAdmin site, but I don't really expect a response and hope for better here. To wit: At work we have a local network with 15 or so PCs and a couple of network printers connected to a 24 port switch, thence connected to the outside world via a SonicWall firewall. Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources. I had our IT guy set it up for me for my last trip out of town, and I fired it up from my hotel room. All I could see in Windows Explorer was a single Shared folder - nothing else was visible. I checked with the IT guru today and he told me that I could connect to anything I want to, so long as I know the IP address or network name, but that it's impossible to set up the VPN to support browsing and a Network Neighborhood-style view on the remote computer. I don't think I believe that, but since I haven't worked on PCs and networks for a living in about 10 years, I haven't kept up with what MS has been doing to make life less convenient lately. Can someone familiar with using and configuring VPN connections confirm or deny that what I want to do is possible? Better yet, can someone tell me how to set it up? If it matters, we have servers on the network, but we aren't configured as a domain and don't use Active Directory. Thanks, as always!
Will Rogers never met me.
Hi Roger, One thing I have done in similar circumstances is to VPN into a "client" PC on the LAN, and effectively inherit its view of the local network. It's a while ago now, so I'm a bit hazy on the details. Effectively running remote desktop off an "inside" PC. hth Cheers, Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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I posted this in the now-uninhabited RootAdmin site, but I don't really expect a response and hope for better here. To wit: At work we have a local network with 15 or so PCs and a couple of network printers connected to a 24 port switch, thence connected to the outside world via a SonicWall firewall. Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources. I had our IT guy set it up for me for my last trip out of town, and I fired it up from my hotel room. All I could see in Windows Explorer was a single Shared folder - nothing else was visible. I checked with the IT guru today and he told me that I could connect to anything I want to, so long as I know the IP address or network name, but that it's impossible to set up the VPN to support browsing and a Network Neighborhood-style view on the remote computer. I don't think I believe that, but since I haven't worked on PCs and networks for a living in about 10 years, I haven't kept up with what MS has been doing to make life less convenient lately. Can someone familiar with using and configuring VPN connections confirm or deny that what I want to do is possible? Better yet, can someone tell me how to set it up? If it matters, we have servers on the network, but we aren't configured as a domain and don't use Active Directory. Thanks, as always!
Will Rogers never met me.
Try adding the IPs of your servers in the hosts (and LMHosts) file.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello[^]
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I posted this in the now-uninhabited RootAdmin site, but I don't really expect a response and hope for better here. To wit: At work we have a local network with 15 or so PCs and a couple of network printers connected to a 24 port switch, thence connected to the outside world via a SonicWall firewall. Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources. I had our IT guy set it up for me for my last trip out of town, and I fired it up from my hotel room. All I could see in Windows Explorer was a single Shared folder - nothing else was visible. I checked with the IT guru today and he told me that I could connect to anything I want to, so long as I know the IP address or network name, but that it's impossible to set up the VPN to support browsing and a Network Neighborhood-style view on the remote computer. I don't think I believe that, but since I haven't worked on PCs and networks for a living in about 10 years, I haven't kept up with what MS has been doing to make life less convenient lately. Can someone familiar with using and configuring VPN connections confirm or deny that what I want to do is possible? Better yet, can someone tell me how to set it up? If it matters, we have servers on the network, but we aren't configured as a domain and don't use Active Directory. Thanks, as always!
Will Rogers never met me.
Hm, not sure about that browsing experience, as I normally don't use it. I can access network shares in a different office (which are mapped to some drive letters) by clicking on them in the Windows Explorer - and only then will their state change from offline to online, and when accessing internal websites, the addresses are already stored in the bookmarks of the web browser. Here in a branch office, network browsing in Windows Explorer only shows computers of this office, it does not show computers at other offices, though I can access them as described above. [Edit]Now working from my hoem office, I see only one computer when browsing the network: mine. So everything looks OK.[/Edit]
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I posted this in the now-uninhabited RootAdmin site, but I don't really expect a response and hope for better here. To wit: At work we have a local network with 15 or so PCs and a couple of network printers connected to a 24 port switch, thence connected to the outside world via a SonicWall firewall. Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources. I had our IT guy set it up for me for my last trip out of town, and I fired it up from my hotel room. All I could see in Windows Explorer was a single Shared folder - nothing else was visible. I checked with the IT guru today and he told me that I could connect to anything I want to, so long as I know the IP address or network name, but that it's impossible to set up the VPN to support browsing and a Network Neighborhood-style view on the remote computer. I don't think I believe that, but since I haven't worked on PCs and networks for a living in about 10 years, I haven't kept up with what MS has been doing to make life less convenient lately. Can someone familiar with using and configuring VPN connections confirm or deny that what I want to do is possible? Better yet, can someone tell me how to set it up? If it matters, we have servers on the network, but we aren't configured as a domain and don't use Active Directory. Thanks, as always!
Will Rogers never met me.
Roger Wright wrote:
Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources.
Roger, I have a couple of clients running SonicWALLs. Are you connecting in via the Global VPN Client? That is how I connect in from the outside world and when doing so always RDP to a computer on the remote network to do my work from. One of the clients has several offices and they are connected voa Site to Site VPN. On those networks I can access anything as if it was on the local network.
Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Roger Wright wrote:
Since the SonicWall includes several VPN licenses, and I often travel, I thought it would be a snap to construct a protected tunnel from my Win7 laptop to the SonicWall, effectively connecting me to the edge of the network and enabling me to browse and use any of the local network resources.
Roger, I have a couple of clients running SonicWALLs. Are you connecting in via the Global VPN Client? That is how I connect in from the outside world and when doing so always RDP to a computer on the remote network to do my work from. One of the clients has several offices and they are connected voa Site to Site VPN. On those networks I can access anything as if it was on the local network.
Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
We're using the VPN Client from Dell, but I don't know if it's the Global version - SonicWall invents their own terminology, and I've never found it easy to break the code. I've had the IT guy change the setup, and I now use a VPN to connect to my PC at work via Remote Desktop, then browse from there. It's working great, and much to my surprise, isn't significantly slower than sitting directly in front of the work machine. :-D
Will Rogers never met me.