posted
I ran into some compatibility problems attempting to establish a Virtual Private Network tunnel to allow my home computer to access my shop computer for doing evening work at home. I was trying to use Lynksys VPN Routers at each end, with DSL at one end & highspeed Cable at the other. The Cable provider only allows one modem & it conflicts with the Linksys. I had to upgrade to a static IP address at one end for an additional $20 per month fee, & was looking at getting another brand of router that would not conflict with the cable when I learned about the PCanywhere software.
I downloaded the 30 day trial for $20 & if it does the job it will be well worth the full price of $100. I tried to figure out the steps to establish the host, the remote computer, & the password protection. I know I will need to specify router address's to tell the host where remote access is allowed from & tell the remote computer where the host computer is. So far I have found the on-line documentation to be too vague for my level of understanding. I will email questions to Symantec also, but wondered if anyone here has went through all these steps already? If so is it as complex as it seems ?
[ August 30, 2002, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
posted
Well those Linksys routers can be tricky if they are the ones with built in firewalls. You would have to define ports and such.
As far as PcAnywhere, it's fairly straight forward. You would install it onto both machines. On the machine that you will be calling, you want to goto "hosts", and then right click the "network/dsl" icon. Make sure that TCP/IP is selected. Then click the "callers" tab and setup a caller such as yourself. I think it's basically a login name and password. Then you have to actually put that machine into host mode by double clicking on the "network/dsl" icon. It will put a little icon in the bottom right and it is basically waiting for a call.
On the machine at home that you'll be using to connect to the shop machine, your gonna want to go into the "remotes" area. Then click "add remote". It should default to tcp/ip and then you can goto the "settings" tab, and at the top enter in the IP address of the machine at work. At that point you should be ablt to o.k. out back to the main remote screen. It will let you name the connection you just created. From there you should be able to double click that remote and it should attempt to connect to the host and then ask you for your login name and password.
This should work assuming that no firewalls are in place. But it's a good idea to have one.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 913 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks Bruce. I got that far on the Host computer except I do have firewalls in the routers on both ends & it's the port business that I don't understand & don't see PCanywhere's documentation mentioning. Also from your reply it seems I will still need the static IP address? Dynamic IP's are constantly changing & so cannot be used for my remote to find my host.
I suppose I am allowed to take a copy of the same .exe file I just paid to download & copy it on the home machine to set up the remote, but maybe I am expected to buy 2 copies?
posted
Well, you don't necessarily need a static ip. You just need to know which ip you currently have. I'm not sure what router you use, but I have one of the 4-port linksys router/firewalls. It actually makes your dsl connections for you and retains the actual ip address your assigned. It evens stores your account/password if your using PPoE type dsl. I can turn off all my computers and the router will still retain the IP address. The router can even be told how long to keep the connection alive. I don't have a static IP, but mine stays the same for weeks at a time. Now and then I think the providor may reset things and my router will actually have to pick up a new IP once in awhile, but not too often.
The point being though is that you would really only need to know your host machines IP address when you left to go home.....your almost assured it's still gonna be the same once you get home. Once your home, you just have to chnage the IP your attempting to connect to.
The more I think about it, even with the firewall you shouldn't really need to do anything special. We actually used to use the linksys router at work and regularly had to connect back to Arkansas and I never opened any special ports. I had a caller setup and would be on the phone with them. I would just go into host mode, then they would call and see it imediately.
We now use High-end Cisco routers which are very difficult to setup, but we never had to do anything special to PCanywhere.
Try this link Doug, it may have the info you want. I never ended up using this info, but maybe it will help you.
well heck, some reason it's only making the first part of that link hot.....make sure you cut/past all the webaddress for it.
p.s. Keep in mind when it talks about the static ip address, it is referring to the ip address on your LAN (local area network), not the WAN ip address (your current assigned dsl IP). The linksys router usually default to the ip address of 192.168.1.1
I assign each desktop it's own LAN ip address such as 192.168.1.2 and so forth. The subnet for each desktop is 255.255.255.0 and the gateway is actually the ip address of the router (192.168.1.1)
I have pc anywhere installed at work....I never connect from home....just with tech support people out of state. I will install it here at home next week and see if I'm able to connect without doing the port forwarding. I use a Linksys router/firewall at home and the Cisco at the shop, so if anyone would have trouble it would be me.
If you wanted to try and see if your able to get it to work, drop me an email and I could attempt to connect to your machine to see if it works. You'd just have to temporarily set me up as one of the callers and give me a password.
[ August 30, 2002, 11:55 PM: Message edited by: Bruce Evans ]
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 913 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks Bruce, got to the page you were pointing me to once I found & deleted the rest of the stray code [/URL] in the middle. It looks like I'm on the right path, so I'll put some time into this weekend & hope for the best. Glad to hear that it sounds like a sure thing to you & is supposed to be easy.
[ August 31, 2002, 12:18 AM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
posted
has anyone considered using an FTP server???
Leave your machine on ... with the FTP server program running. Go home, start up your ftp client.. down load your job.. Work it, then ftp it back up to the host .. done,,
FTP server = 29 bucks FTP client = Free ( some are )
The draw backs? yes u will have to bring home your dongl for your dongled programs. But if yer like me you will do very little with yer dongled program any way.. Now dont you hate dongles even more????
I got away from doing anything with a PC anywhere type programs. I use FTP because its faster easier.
Setting up the router is very easy,, u tell it to open port 20~21 (FTP) ports on the local machine IP and its ready. You can tell yer router to open a range of IP's and let it change al it wants ..no more worries..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5278 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks Curtis, truth is that is over my head already, but I will save this & consult back to it when I make room in my head to learn more stuff. Is an FTP server software or hardware? I have a leapFTP I use to ftp my web pages (or pics I post here) to my isp who hosts my domain. It sounds like it should make sense, I just need to get the full sales pitch from whoever makes a good ftp server. Any suggestions?
I will follow through with the pcAnywhere first & then attack this angle if needed.
posted
FTP server is the proggy that makes your machine available for getting stuff,
it allows your FTP client to enter your computer. Get bulletproof (G6) server free trial and set it up. its so easy that even i could do it..
if u can use a FTP client to do yer web page stuff then u will easily set up a server..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5278 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
PC Anywhere is a good program and can probably be configured to do what you want. There might be another software solution to what you want to achieve also. I'm not familiar with your router/s but I have a program I often use on dial up called FTP Serve-U which allows secure access to specified drives or directories on your computer remotely via the internet. It is very configurable (for your IP/ports etc) and I found it quite easy to set up & use. For the best security though, it might be worth leaving your dial up modem installed (if possible) and simply using the trusty z modem direct connection or similar. That would make your machine far less conspicuous to any malicious connections. It would also mean 0 outlay on software because everything you need can be installed from your windows CD. If you are running Windows XP on the host machine it might also be worthwhile looking up "remote assistance" in the help files, that could be another way to skin the same cat. HTH and I'd be interested to hear how you get your system set up once everything is up and running, David
-------------------- David Fisher D.A. & P.M. Fisher Services Brisbane Australia da_pmf@yahoo.com Trying out a new tag: "Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth Peter Ustinov Posts: 1450 | From: Brisbane Queensland Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Exactly what i was reffering to dave, but you were so much more articulate at describing it..
Almost all FTP server type programs have similiar options... And is so much faster than pcanywhere type WAN emulators..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5278 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
well, I am liking the idea of not getting another router, & not needing the expense of a static IP address. I also like learning all this stuff, but being as busy as I am (spent 15 hours on bus graphics this weekend) I plan to get the guy who set up my lan at the office to help set things up. I will show him all these helpful posts, discuss the ftp pros & cons along with all my other known options & when I get things happening, I'll make sure I understand them enough to maintain them. I will also check back and share what I learn.
Printer-friendly view of this topic