Can I Make a simple VPN with Eircom Broadband?

[Pete]

Folks,
I want to set up access to my LAN from field locations outside my
office. I read up on the VPN capabilities of Windws 2000 Professional
and the built-in capabilities seem a perfect solution.

From the articles on the Microsoft website, I created a VPN client on
my test dialup PC (Using Network Connection Wizard) which asks for the
IP of the server it will connect to.

I set up a receive connection on my Broadband PC which has a DHCP
connection (dynamic IP address). I have an Eircom supplied Netopia 3341
and a HomePlus account.

The IP address of the Netopia router (derived from looking at the
Netopia config screen) is not visible from outside. I cannot ping the
Netopia box from my dialup machine.

This problem seems to put a stopper to the Win2k VPN solution which
would be ideal for me. As the broadband connection is almost always on,
and the IP address rarely changes, I could configure a VPN client
connection from any field location using win2000 or XP and access my LAN.

Am I missing something? Should I invest in a fixed IP address and would
this fix the problem? Do I need to make a pinhole in the 3341 to make it
work.

Any help would be appreciated.

All the best,
Pete

[James]

I've only done VPN with fixed IP's but the principle is the same for a
dynamic IP so long as it lasts long enough for your connection. There is
something wrong if you can't see your Router from an external dial-in
account. Nothing will work until you get that right. Are you sure you
are looking at the WAN IP address rather than the local IP address?

Post by Pete
Folks,
I want to set up access to my LAN from field locations outside my
office. I read up on the VPN capabilities of Windws 2000 Professional
and the built-in capabilities seem a perfect solution.
From the articles on the Microsoft website, I created a VPN client on
my test dialup PC (Using Network Connection Wizard) which asks for the
IP of the server it will connect to.
I set up a receive connection on my Broadband PC which has a DHCP
connection (dynamic IP address). I have an Eircom supplied Netopia 3341
and a HomePlus account.
The IP address of the Netopia router (derived from looking at the
Netopia config screen) is not visible from outside. I cannot ping the
Netopia box from my dialup machine.
This problem seems to put a stopper to the Win2k VPN solution which
would be ideal for me. As the broadband connection is almost always on,
and the IP address rarely changes, I could configure a VPN client
connection from any field location using win2000 or XP and access my LAN.
Am I missing something? Should I invest in a fixed IP address and would
this fix the problem? Do I need to make a pinhole in the 3341 to make it
work.
Any help would be appreciated.
All the best,
Pete

[Pete]

James,
Thanks for replying. Yes! The IP address is the WAN address. If I check
the router config page(192.168.1.254) it gives me an IP address of eg.
83.70.91.141

Going out on the Internet and checking the IP address from a webpage
gives me the same eg. 83.70.91.141

There are many websites that offer this service such as
"http://www.whatismyip.com/"

I ran up the Eircom help line to check and the agent who took my call
could see(ping!) my WAN address. I cannot do this though from a dialup.

I assume that if I cannot get a ping response then this type of VPN
won't work.
Is there any type of VPN that works like instant messaging which does
not care about seeing the peer address but makes contact anyway via a
presence protocol?

Thanks in advance,
Pete

Post by James
I've only done VPN with fixed IP's but the principle is the same for a
dynamic IP so long as it lasts long enough for your connection. There is
something wrong if you can't see your Router from an external dial-in
account. Nothing will work until you get that right. Are you sure you
are looking at the WAN IP address rather than the local IP address?

Post by Pete
Folks,
I want to set up access to my LAN from field locations outside my
office. I read up on the VPN capabilities of Windws 2000 Professional
and the built-in capabilities seem a perfect solution.
From the articles on the Microsoft website, I created a VPN client on
my test dialup PC (Using Network Connection Wizard) which asks for the
IP of the server it will connect to.
I set up a receive connection on my Broadband PC which has a DHCP
connection (dynamic IP address). I have an Eircom supplied Netopia 3341
and a HomePlus account.
The IP address of the Netopia router (derived from looking at the
Netopia config screen) is not visible from outside. I cannot ping the
Netopia box from my dialup machine.
This problem seems to put a stopper to the Win2k VPN solution which
would be ideal for me. As the broadband connection is almost always on,
and the IP address rarely changes, I could configure a VPN client
connection from any field location using win2000 or XP and access my LAN.
Am I missing something? Should I invest in a fixed IP address and would
this fix the problem? Do I need to make a pinhole in the 3341 to make it
work.
Any help would be appreciated.
All the best,
Pete

[James]

Pete,
I am able to ping 192.168.1.254 right now (from an ADSL account) so it's
strange you can't ping it from your dial-up account. I don't know of any
way you can set up VPN if the client can't see the destination IP address.
The most likely problem is a firewall. Have you a firewall on your dial-up
PC? If so disable it. Have you tried another dial-up account? Can you
ping the reverse direction?

Post by Pete
James,
Thanks for replying. Yes! The IP address is the WAN address. If I check
the router config page(192.168.1.254) it gives me an IP address of eg.
83.70.91.141
Going out on the Internet and checking the IP address from a webpage
gives me the same eg. 83.70.91.141

[Gary Pigott]

Post by James
Pete,
I am able to ping 192.168.1.254 right now (from an ADSL account) so it's
strange you can't ping it from your dial-up account. I don't know of any
way you can set up VPN if the client can't see the destination IP address.
The most likely problem is a firewall. Have you a firewall on your dial-up
PC? If so disable it. Have you tried another dial-up account? Can you
ping the reverse direction?

Post by Pete
James,
Thanks for replying. Yes! The IP address is the WAN address. If I check
the router config page(192.168.1.254) it gives me an IP address of eg.
83.70.91.141
Going out on the Internet and checking the IP address from a webpage
gives me the same eg. 83.70.91.141

<Sigh> 192.168.1.254 is the internal IP address of everyone's router,
including *yours*. 83.70.91.141 is the relevant IP (Pete's router). I
can ping it just fine from here (another Eircom ADSL line).

Gary

[James]

"Gary Pigott" <***@garypigott.net> wrote in message news:MdFxc.1811>
<Sigh> 192.168.1.254 is the internal IP address of everyone's router,

Post by Gary Pigott
including *yours*. 83.70.91.141 is the relevant IP (Pete's router). I
can ping it just fine from here (another Eircom ADSL line).

OOps... of course you're right. It was 83.70.91.141 I pinged
successfully, sorry for the typo, I was fighting customers off at the
time:-)

(BTW, just for the record, everyone's router IP is not necessarily the same,
different manufacturers often ship with different defaults and they can be
changed. My router's IP is different again)

[Gary Pigott]

Post by Gary Pigott
<Sigh> 192.168.1.254 is the internal IP address of everyone's router,

Post by Gary Pigott
including *yours*. 83.70.91.141 is the relevant IP (Pete's router). I
can ping it just fine from here (another Eircom ADSL line).

OOps... of course you're right. It was 83.70.91.141 I pinged
successfully, sorry for the typo, I was fighting customers off at the
time:-)
(BTW, just for the record, everyone's router IP is not necessarily the same,
different manufacturers often ship with different defaults and they can be
changed. My router's IP is different again)

But they ship Netopia Caymans these days don't they, and their default
is 192.168.1.254?

Gary

[James]

Post by Gary Pigott
But they ship Netopia Caymans these days don't they, and their default
is 192.168.1.254?

If you mean Eircom, they probably do for the regular home install if you
take their equipment. (Are they still giving free equipment?). However,
I'm generally working with other manufacturers routers.

[Shweeney]

Post by Pete
Folks,
I want to set up access to my LAN from field locations outside my
office. I read up on the VPN capabilities of Windws 2000 Professional
and the built-in capabilities seem a perfect solution.
From the articles on the Microsoft website, I created a VPN client on
my test dialup PC (Using Network Connection Wizard) which asks for the
IP of the server it will connect to.
I set up a receive connection on my Broadband PC which has a DHCP
connection (dynamic IP address). I have an Eircom supplied Netopia 3341
and a HomePlus account.
The IP address of the Netopia router (derived from looking at the
Netopia config screen) is not visible from outside. I cannot ping the
Netopia box from my dialup machine.

ICMP is blocked on some parts of the eircom dialup network - this stops ping
from working but won't stop the VPN
you may also need to setup a pinhole on the Netopia but overall the setup
will be a bit flakey unless you get a static IP on the DSL account.