Friday, August 20, 2010

How can my laptop connect to the server?

I have a Dell Latitude and a docking station with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse at my office. In order to run my software I need to be connected to the server. What can I do to keep that connection after I leave my office? VPN has proved unstable. Is there some kind of online service that I can use to connect? Software? I am open to suggestions.How can my laptop connect to the server?
VPN is a rather generic term. There are different kinds of VPN and you may be having problems with the one you have chosen. That being said, being an IT guy, you cannot just pick and choose what VPN you will or will not use, unless you are the decision maker for the security group within your organization. There are many things that you don't know about that may have to factor into the decision on how you will be able to connect to the server. For example, we have to prove that we have a certain degree of privacy and security in order to protect consumer data carried on the server.





That being said, there are native VPNs that Windows implements, there are HTTP based VPNs, there are standard VPNs like IPSEC, there are VPNs implemented in firewalls and so on. Some of these work better under some circumstances than others. For example, many VPNs will not work with a satellite based connection because that requires a ';session';, and because of the pooling of IP addresses and other attempts to mitigate the high latency in a satellite connection, VPNs that depend on session integrity don't work in that scenario, but I have heard that HTTP based VPNs will work.





The VPN may not be the problem, it could be your home connection causing problems as well. My advice would be to talk to the IT guy and discuss your problem and see what you can come up with together. If you are the IT guy, you need to do a whole lot more research than what you are going to find here.

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