[Techtalk] Extending the network

[Diggy Bell]

Dan,

With line of sight, there are some options like microwave, etc..., but those
can be rather pricey.  If the cost of a separate internet connection is
within their budget, you might be able to make things work quite well with a
VPN solution.  I've used LinVPN to link 3 remote sites with a central office
(San Carlos, CA to Seattle, WA, Bellingham, WA, and Roanoke, VA.  Everything
worked like a champ!

The best way to set it up would be to use one box in each location as a VPN
gateway with each network being on a separate subnet.  For example, if your
main network is 192.168.1.0, the remote office would use 192.168.2.0.  You
would then setup the router on each network to route cross-network traffic
back to the VPN gateway, and then across to the other network.  You can even
make this work with SOHO routers (Linksys, Belkin, Siemens).

Underneath, LinVPN uses PPP across SSH to keep things secure.

HTH

Diggy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Richter" <daniel.richter at wimba.com>
To: <techtalk at linuxchix.org>
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 9:39 AM
Subject: [Techtalk] Extending the network


> Hi everyone.
>
> My in-laws run a small business that's grown beyond the space that's
> immediately available to them. They want to put an employee in a
> building across the street, and they want that employee to have access
> to the corporate network.
>
> I assume that Wifi is too loose on security. It wouldn't be appropriate
> to stretch an ethernet cable between two windows, but there is
> line-of-site, so an infrared transmitter might be a solution. It may
> also be possible to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) operating
> across the Internet.
>
> What do you think would be a good solution? I'm not a network admin, so
> please explain the hardware and setup costs involved.
>
> By the way, no one in the company is a geek, but they pay a geeky
> company to take care of their network.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -- 
>   The first time the [artificially intelligent] creature was put down
>   in the game world, he just stared at his feet. I was puzzled, but
>   after debugging found that the creature was trying to eat himself.
>   He was hungry, and had spotted himself as a nearby convenient object!
>       - Richard Evans, creator of the AI game "Black & White"
>
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