WinXP, VPN and Remote Desktop

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a home computer with WinXP and believe I have set up the VPN properly by building an Incoming network connection. Because this computer connects to the internet via DSL, I have no idea how to determine the IP Address of that machine so that I can use Remote Desktop when I have my laptop outside of the house.

The Home computer is connected directly to the DSL Modem.

1. How do I determine my Home computer's IP address?
2. What address do I enter into the laptop Browser window to use Remote Desktop via Web?
3. Where can I find concrete information for setting up the Home computer's Incoming Network Connection to make the above possible?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[Sooner Al]

If your using the built-in PPTP VPN server then you also need to make sure TCP Port 1723 is
forwarded/opened and GRE Protocol 47 traffic is enabled through any firewall/NAT/router between your
home PC and the public internet. Some firewall/NAT/routers call the later "PPTP Pass Through" or
"VPN Pass Through", or like my Buffalo WBR-G54 that is setup with a "Manual" port setting.

Here is a site that illustrates how to setup the PPTP VPN server and client on an XP box.

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn_server.htm
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn.htm

How I did that using the XP ICF as an example of firewall port forwarding (ignore the parts about
the PocketPC)...

http://members.cox.net/ajarvi/WM2003/WM2003PPTPVPN.html

For addressing, I use a free service from No-IP.com that maps an alias to my ISPs DHCP assigned IP
address. A small program runs on your PC and contacts the No-IP.com servers on a periodic basis. The
server then maps the IP of your PC to the alias and propagates that over the public internet. It
works very well for me and its FREE....

Go to http://www.no-ip.com for help. Additional like services, some FREE and some $$$$, can be found
on this page...

http://www.remotenetworktechnology.com/ow.asp?Remote_Network_Home/Connections

You would call the remote PC using the alias...or if the host PC/router has a static public IP, call
using the static IP.

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

Hello,

I have a home computer with WinXP and believe I have set up the VPN properly by building an

Incoming network connection. Because this computer connects to the internet via DSL, I have no idea
how to determine the IP Address of that machine so that I can use Remote Desktop when I have my
laptop outside of the house.

The Home computer is connected directly to the DSL Modem.

1. How do I determine my Home computer's IP address?
2. What address do I enter into the laptop Browser window to use Remote Desktop via Web?
3. Where can I find concrete information for setting up the Home computer's Incoming Network

Connection to make the above possible?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Al! I feel I'm finally getting somewhere

After a lot of reading, I'm discovering that there is a big difference between using VPN to connect to the home network and Remote Desktop. The solution I'm really after here is Remote Desktop. It seems that there is not a whole lot of information about this

Can you confirm the difference between using the VPN connection and using Remote Desktop in Windows XP Pro
Should I disable/remove the incoming connection I've created so that Remote Desktop is used
Should I have Internet Connection Firewall on or off
Is there a preferred method of making this connection between using the Remote Desktop Connection .exe or the web based version

I apologize for the continued questions if I seem dense, Obviously I'm not a network engineer.

Thank you for your patience and help.

 

[Chetan Raghavendra [MSFT]]

Can you confirm the difference between using the VPN connection and using Remote Desktop in Windows XP Pro?
There are two different features. Former one is get network connectivity or to access a private network and later one is for accessing the machine (as if the remote machine is at your place after connecting) to which you are connecting

Should I disable/remove the incoming connection I've created so that Remote Desktop is used?

If you want both, you can have.

Should I have Internet Connection Firewall on or off?

Preferrably yes. This would stop unsolicited traffic to your machine.

Is there a preferred method of making this connection between using the Remote Desktop Connection .exe or the web based version?

--
Thanks
Chetan
(e-mail address removed)

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.