[aklug] Re: OT(?): Remote Access VPN

And if you want a different case color or other stuff from the site, I'll
order whatever you want.

Royce

On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 10:37 PM, Royce Williams <royce@tycho.org> wrote:

> The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it's time to upgrade.
>
> Since I will be paying the ~$40 for shipment from Europe, if anyone wants
> combine shipping with me, speak up in the next 48 hours or so and I'll add
> your order to mine.
>
> I'm buying direct from PC Engines. Net hardware cost is $177.40 (plus
> $26.10 if you want the Atheros-based a/b/g/n wireless stuff = $203.50).
> You would pay your actual hardware cost plus (1/n)% of the shipping, based
> on n people on the order.
>
> Ignoring the shipping+handling below, this is what we'd be getting:
>
> QtyDescriptionPriceTotalHTS codeOriginWeight1APU.1D4 system board 4GB
> USD145.00USD145.008471.5000TW235g1Enclosure 3 LAN, black, USBUSD10.00
> USD10.008473.3000CN241g1AC adapter 12V US plug for IT equipmentUSD4.40
> USD4.408504.4040CN150g1SSD M-Sata 16GB MLC PhisonUSD18.00USD18.008523.5100
> TW10g1Compex WLE200NX miniPCI express cardUSD19.00USD19.008517.7000CN10g2Cable
> I-PEX -> reverse SMAUSD1.50USD3.008544.2020TW10g2Antenna reverse SMA dual
> bandUSD2.05USD4.108517.7000TW56g Shipping + handling USD40.80 *Total*
> *USD244.30*712g
>
>
> I tried a 10-box order and a 30-box order, and the shipping went up $2,
> but whatever the actual shipping is, I'll pass that along at the 1/n rate
> as well.
>
> The assembly and software install is easy -- I'm basically doing this:
>
> https://mateh.id.au/2014/09/build-awesome-apu-based-pfsense-router/
>
> To address some of JP's valid points, I'll explore using inexpensive USB
> drives to handle write-heavy activity.
>
> I'm not too concerned about using specialized hardware. If you back up
> you config, you can swap in a refurbished PC temporarily. pfSense knows
> when its hardware has changed, and will guide you through picking which of
> the new NICs are LAN vs WAN. It's very easy to restore your production
> setup quickly on just about any hardware. And the power draw is much lower
> than on a refurbished PC. The only real drawback is the Realtek NICs. I'd
> prefer Intel or Chelsio. From my reading, as long as you're not pushing
> close to the max (600 or 700Mb/s), things should be just fine.
>
> I'm also not concerned about it being FOSS -- it's well integrated by some
> people who have been doing it for a long time, and designed to work well
> with a wide range of gear.
>
> Let me know off list if you want to combine shipping with me -- say, by
> midnight Thursday night.
>
> And if we all go to lunch when the order gets here, you can each buy 1/n
> of my lunch. ;)
>
> Royce
>
> On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 1:57 PM, JP <jp@jptechnical.com> wrote:
>
>> Where do you sleep Damien? :-D
>>
>> A commercial solution is perfectly viable as an option, whatever you need
>> for the application. Just don't drink the Cisco koolaid.
>>
>> ___ _______
>> | | |
>> | | _ |
>> | | |_| |
>> ___| | ___|
>> | | |
>> |_______|___|
>>
>> *JP (Jesse Perry)*
>> voice/txt: 907-748-2200
>> email: jp@jptechnical.com
>> web: http://jptechnical.com
>> support: helpdesk@jptechnical.com
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 1:40 PM, Damien Hull <dhull@section9.us> wrote:
>>
>>> I'll jump in here and add my 2 cents. Which is about all I have left.
>>>
>>> 1. Don't use the Windows server as the VPN end point
>>> 2. In a small office situation you should use the gateway/firewall for
>>> this.
>>> 3. You can authenticate through RADIUS which ties into AD. This is a
>>> role in Server 2008
>>> 4. I would recommend an off the shelf solution rather than rolling your
>>> own.
>>>
>>> I'm in the middle of deploying Meraki MX80's. May not be the right
>>> solution for you but they seem to be working well for us. Dropping in
>>> Firewall number 2 this Friday. I'm deploying a total of 4. Might be adding
>>> number 5 if we get another office.
>>>
>>> And I know someone will kill me in my sleep for recommending something
>>> other than an opensource solution. I do have opensource solutions on my
>>> network. Just not the firewall.
>>>
>>> That's my 2 cents.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 11:18 AM, Christopher Howard <
>>> christopher.howard.asi@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey guys... so I took up a job at a small business which is basically a
>>>> Windows shop (hey, gotta eat...) and I wanted to set up a simple Remote
>>>> Access VPN so the boss could access the network files while abroad. They've
>>>> got a WS2008 running their AD and DHCP on the intranet (but it isn't the
>>>> gateway). So, my first thought was to see if it had built in VPN
>>>> functionality. It does, but I ran into some trouble -- apparently in WS2008
>>>> the remote access VPN functionality is tied into the IP routing
>>>> functionality (which were aren't using). So, when I activated the RRAS,
>>>> there was some strange conflict with DHCP and it instantly disconnected
>>>> everyone's access to the network storage shares! Fortunately, I was able to
>>>> reverse things before causing too much pandemonium, but obviously now I'm a
>>>> bit nervous...
>>>>
>>>> So, now I am trying to figure out if it is worth monkeying around with
>>>> this some more to get it working, or if I should look at some other
>>>> approach. Maybe just put a small Linux box on the network and run a FOSS
>>>> VPN server from it? (I'm imagining complications down the road trying to
>>>> get user authentication tied into the AD system if we eventually get
>>>> multiple users.) I looked on our gateway router but didn't see any kind of
>>>> VPN functionality.
>>>>
>>>> Any sage advice from the seasoned admins?
>>>>
>>>> ---
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

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Received on Tue Oct 20 22:47:37 2015