VPN without Network?

Evergreen

We have a small business with no network and are currently running our accounts sfotware and database from a Windows 7 Ultimate work station. I would like to be able to access the accounts database from my laptop while on the road using my laptop but don't know if it is possible to do so without going to the expensive of purchasing a server.

My preferred solution would be to setup a simple VPN between my laptop and the workstation.

Does anybody have experience or advice on this that might help me out?

Thanks

bhickey

You don't necessarily need a server (depending on how your application/databse work) but you'll need to connect the office PC to a network of some sort (even if it's just the LAN ports on tha back of a standard router).

You can use a router with built-in VPN server capabilities. I've used a few of these and they've been perfect for remotely connecting to office computers.The price freaks some people out though

You'd probably need to get someone to set it up for you as VPN stuff isn't the simplest. Would you be looking to control the Windows 7 computer itself or actual run a client application on the laptop which accesses the database on the workstation?

ronkmonster

If you don't need the VPN part you could just do use remote desktop connection in windows

1. set static ip on your office pc
2. setup portforwarding on your broadband router for port 3389 to your pc ip
3. enable remote desktop on pc
4. you need a static ip from your broadband supplier

You don't get the encryption that you'd have with vpn

woolymammoth

ronkmonster wrote: »

If you don't need the VPN part you could just do use remote desktop connection in windows

1. set static ip on your office pc
2. setup portforwarding on your broadband router for port 3389 to your pc ip
3. enable remote desktop on pc
4. you need a static ip from your broadband supplier

You don't get the encryption that you'd have with vpn

+1 on this.

but, you don't really need the VPN, if you just want to access the PC. If you're running software on your own pc, and just connecting to the office database, then ya, you want a vpn tunnel! You'll still need the static IP. Just shop around on the broadband for a provider with a static IP if you don't already have one.

You can get free software, but the usual problem is it's free for personal, not business use. But i think Open vpn is free for up to 2 clients. Haven't really looked at it though.
http://lifehacker.com/5487500/five-best-vpn-tools

bhickey

ronkmonster wrote: »

you need a static ip from your broadband supplier

Just to clarify (seeing as it's been said twice now), you do NOT need a static IP for a VPN or for Remote Desktop. There are numerous free dynamic DNS services which make a static IP unnecessary.

Fysh

Depending on how your networking is set up at your office you may be able to get away with configuring NAT on your router so that any traffic directed at your office IP address is routed to the workstation. At that point you can use RDP if you want, though personally I'd suggest paying for a licence for RealVNC Enterprise or something similar that supports encryption - that way you can connect securely from wherever you're travelling. (You'll want to put a bit of work into making sure that the workstation has an adequate security configuration, is up to date with OS patches and so on, but that's the case no matter what option you go for).

Evergreen

bhickey wrote: »

You don't necessarily need a server (depending on how your application/databse work) but you'll need to connect the office PC to a network of some sort (even if it's just the LAN ports on tha back of a standard router).

You can use a router with built-in VPN server capabilities. I've used a few of these and they've been perfect for remotely connecting to office computers.The price freaks some people out though

You'd probably need to get someone to set it up for you as VPN stuff isn't the simplest. Would you be looking to control the Windows 7 computer itself or actual run a client application on the laptop which accesses the database on the workstation?

Thanks for the info on this, it is very much appreciated. In relation to your question I was hoping to run a client application on the laptop. I have used logmein before and it works fine, but we are taking on two neew sales guys and I want them to be able to remotely access the database while on the road as well.

Evergreen

woolymammoth wrote: »

+1 on this.

but, you don't really need the VPN, if you just want to access the PC. If you're running software on your own pc, and just connecting to the office database, then ya, you want a vpn tunnel! You'll still need the static IP. Just shop around on the broadband for a provider with a static IP if you don't already have one.

You can get free software, but the usual problem is it's free for personal, not business use. But i think Open vpn is free for up to 2 clients. Haven't really looked at it though.
http://lifehacker.com/5487500/five-best-vpn-tools

OpenVPN sounds great for getting the project up and running, there will be no more than two people logged in remotely at any one time anyway.

Thanks for the tip

ronkmonster

bhickey wrote: »

Just to clarify (seeing as it's been said twice now), you do NOT need a static IP for a VPN or for Remote Desktop. There are numerous free dynamic DNS services which make a static IP unnecessary.

True.

I have a domain name (not a dynamic dns domain) pointing to my home network but the IP isn't static. With UPC IP rarely changes so it's static enough for personal use.

I'd personally rather a static ip over dynamic dns. Dynamic dns is another service that could go down.

bhickey

Evergreen wrote: »

I was hoping to run a client application on the laptop. I have used logmein before and it works fine, but we are taking on two neew sales guys and I want them to be able to remotely access the database while on the road as well.

How well that arrangement might work would depend on how the client application works with the database. That's something you'd need to test first. You'd also need to be wary of how well things might recover from a broken connection etc..