access domain from home

I have a Domain at the office. The server is Server 2003.

I just installed a new program on the server that I'd like to access from home.

How do I do this? The program I want to use from home doesn't have any built-in resources to facilitate this. Will I need some kind of third-party software to do this?

I don't currently have any type of remote access. The office uses Verizon, and at home is Comcast.

I'm guessing the first step is I'll need to contact Verizon to get find out what the external IP address of the office is...then...ummmmm?

Anyway, appreciate any help!

Thanks,

Steve

 

I am no means an expert but if I'm not mistaken, both 2000 and 2003 server have a built in terminal server you should be able to log into. Kind of a virtual account. I think it requires some type of license and both computers have to share the same one. Security reasons of course. I bet some other guys here could get a little more specific but the answer to your question is yes, you should be able to get to the server and it will look just like the server at work but on your desktop.

 

What type of internet do you have at work? DSL? If so, the easy solution would be get the IP of your Server and use VNC to get to it.

 

Work is Verizon DSL.

I basically have to have it set up so that my home PC (XP Pro) can see the office PCs (XP Pro) through My Network Places, since the program I want to run from home needs to map to a shared drive on my office server.


Steve

 

Two options.
1. VPN
2. Teriminal Services

1. VPN requires a VPN client to be installed so you can authenticate to your network and it would be like having your pc at the office but all the mapped drives would work as normal. VPN capable router required.
2. Terminal Services requires port 3389 to be forwarded to the server. From that point you can use the RDP client (native to XP) to login to your server and interact with your applications that way. RPD is like looking at the computer screen on the server. It's a remote session.

 

Thanks Kodo.

VPN sounds like the way to go. Any recomendations on easy to use VPN software???

How about a good link with some more info regarding VPN? (New to me, I understand the concept, just haven't any actual experience with it).

The router (at home) is a Linksys BEFW11S4.


Thanks again,


Steve

 

not sure if this will help but.
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2004/03/09/vpn_connection.html

 

Thanks for the link, Kodo. That looks really straightforward. So, according to the link, I should be able to do what I want to do using whats already built into Windows, correct?

Any other considerations??? Do I need to open any ports? Which one(s)...and how?


Thanks,

Steve

 

Well, I followed every step to the letter in that link that Kodo provided. Everything went smoothly except that from home, I cannot log on. I get some message about the server not being accessible or something like that.

When I set up the client, I set it up to go directly to the IP address. Should I have also designated a port #? If so, how do I set that up on the server side. The server itself goes into a Linksys router. I went through the Linksys set-up, and everything appears to be OK. PPTP appears to be enabled.

I'm using the Administrative profile and password. I think I need to do something else.

It appears as though VNC is on the server, but I was told that VNC is not real secure, and easy to hack.

Someone also suggested just using Terminal Services.

Given what it is I'm trying to do...what do you think is the easiest way to accomplish this???

VPN, VNC or Terminal Services?

I'd like to stick with the VPN configuration that I've started using Kodos link. I'm pretty sure that for the most part, things are set correctly. I think I'm just missing one small piece here.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Steve

 

Still trying to get this to work, with no luck.

I followed the steps on the link that Kodo provided. I have the home machine set to dial into the external IP address of the office. Perhaps thats where I've got it wrong?

I know there must be something I need to do on the office router.

Would it makes sense to just by two VPN routers? I'm assuming that they are very intuitive, with perhaps even a wizard for setting up a VPN?


Thanks again,

-Steve