Topic: VPN and Internet Access

[Andrew Rosenau]

Ok I have a client who has a small network, with a cable internet connection. They want to have remote access to their files from home, and also internet access, since they do not have a ISP at their home. So basically I want to be able to give a remote client access to dial into the server and access the network, and internet. I only need the ability for one person to do this at a time. Thank you in advance.

[Bill Talcott]

There is an unsupported dialin contrib that should work.

You do not want a VPN connection, as that uses an internet "tunnel" to provide secure access to the SME's LAN to an internet client.

[Andrew Rosenau]

thank you for your reply. I found the dialin contrib, what do  you mean when you say i do not want VPN? The people this will be used for are not very computer smart, they need to be able to access their files, and network in the easiest way possible.

[Bill Talcott]

Think of the internal side of the SME as the LAN, and the external side as the internet.

If you dialin to the SME, the client will be on the LAN. Just like any computers connected to the internal interface.

A VPN connection creates a secure tunnel between two internet computers. In this case, that would be the client and the SME. The VPN connection lets the insecure internet client create a secure connection to the SME, and gives the client a LAN IP address. The remote client becomes a member of the LAN, even though it's physically on the internet side. To do this, the client PC needs to have its own internet connection already, which is why it won't help you in this specific situation..

[Andrew Rosenau]

this this dialin contrib always me access to the lan, and internet without messing around with VPN. Sorry for the dumb questions--kinda a newbie.