Topic: Remote Access

[Bud]

Please Help

I need to remotely (Outside my Lan) access Server-manager. I have open port 443 on my ADSL Router and Forwarded it to my SME Box.

I am running in server only mode. I have allowed Secure Shell Settings and use standard port 22 for  Secure Shell. I have a Dynamic Address and can get access via FTP, WebShare, Webmail etc. but not to server-manager. When I type in https://dyndnsname/server-manager
I get a 403 Forbidden error.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[mrjhb3]

Add your host or network as a local network in server manager, then you can access server-manager remotely.  If you have ssh access, then you can login to the console as admin, then choose the option to access server-manager via the text-only browser.

JOhn

[Bud]

Thanks for the Quick reply.

Sorry for the Noob Question but are you saying that in Server Manager under "SECURITY / Remote Management" I need to add in my SME Box Address eg. 10.0.0.5 / 255.0.0.0 then reboot the Box ? 

[crazybob]

You need to enter the public IP of the remote computer you are using to try to access your server. Use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.255 to limit access from only that IP.  If that doesn't have a static IP, you will need to establish a vpn (or use open vpn) connection. Then you can access server-manager through the tunnel.

[mrjhb3]

Yes, I actually told you wrong in the previous post, sorry about that.  Under security/remote access, add your public IP to the remote management section.  I would recommend using a host address, not a network range.  That's what I and probably most other do as you have greater control on who can access server-manager remotely.  You don't need to reboot, after the changes take effect, then your public IP will have remote access to server-manager.

John

[Bud]

Thanks for the Support Guys.

If I hear you correctly you are saying that I need to Enter my say Home PC Public address (IP Number) to the SME Box so that I can get Access to my SME Server at the Office.

The Problem is that I have a Dynamic Address and this Changes due to my ISP. Also there are Times that I need to Access my Server Remotely from Other Locations that are also using either Dynamic or Static Addresses. (I need to Create a User with an Email Account, Webshare Rights etc. etc.)

Now What? 

 

[haymann]

You can either use the built-in PPTP VPN or the popular OpenVPN contrib (I know, that thread is massive. Maybe sometime one of us will add the how-to to the wiki...). Once you have established the VPN session, open your browser and type in the local IP/server-manager. Much easier than adding every IP to the remote access section every time you come to a new one.
Ryan

Edit- added a few links for you...

[Bud]

Thanks for the Great Response

Firstly I did what was mentioned by " haymann" (Thanks Haymann) and Established the VPN. From my Home PC (IP: 10.0.0.25) I can access the SME Box at the Office via VPN Connection using my User name and Password (Connecting with WinXP Pro) that I have on the Office SME Box. However the Office SME Box's IP is 10.0.0.50. I did a Port Forward 1723 on the Router for the SME Server Box.

After the VPN Connection I cannot connect to https://10.0.0.50/server-manager.

What am I doing Wrong 

[Bricka]

Your home and work I.P addresses must be in a different range i.e. 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.2.0

[Bud]

Finally I understand 

This is what I have Done:

1. At the Office where the SME Box Resides on the Router make sure you Port Forward Port " 1723 " to the SME Box.

2. On the Office SME Box " Security / Remote Access / PPTP Settings " type in the amount of Users you need to have VPN Access to the SME Box eg. 2 or 55 etc. and then click " save "

3. On the Office SME Box " Collaboration / Users " go to the User (Yourself or admin or whomever) and under Modify choose " VPN Client Access "
for that user and change it to " yes " then click " save "

4. Make sure you know what your SME Box IP Address is eg. " 10.0.0.50 " or whatever it is that you installed it with. Also as Previously stated the Windowz PC that you created the VPN Connection must be on another IP Range eg. 10.0.2.10 <---Windowz PC IP Address.

5. At the REMOTE PC (Your Home or Client's Windowz XP outside of the SME Lan) goto " Network Connections " and then " Create a New Connection " making sure that you choose " Connect to the Network at my Workplace " and enter the Name of the Connection, Your SME Box User Name and Password. After you have Created the VPN Connection just click on the Connection that you just created on the Windowz PC and you should be connected to your SME Box.

6. On the Windowz PC just open the IE Browser andf type in the Host Name (or IP Address) of the SME Box eg. https://smebox/server-manager and you have Lift Off. Full access to the Server Manager.

Thanks Guys.

SME Server is Simply GREAT 

[mmccarn]

You can also do it this way from any remote location:

1) Download 'putty.exe' and put it in c:\windows on your home computer

2) Configure your SME server to allow ssh connections.  (I recommend that you change the SSH port number from the default of 22 to another - say '2222').

3) From home, click 'start', 'run', 'putty my.office.pc -P 2222 -l root -L 443:127.0.0.1:443'
(replace 'my.office.pc' with the name or IP address of the SME server.  replace '2222' with the port number you selected for ssh on your SME server)

4) browse to https://localhost/server-manager

Once you've seen this work, you need to configure public key cryptography for your putty / sshd connection for better security (port 22 used by ssh is now one of the most 'attacked' ports on the internet...)