I have been away from the technical side of IT for a while. I have a small law firm that needs remote access to their files and folders on their one 2012 server. I would like to set them up with a vpn solution that would grant them access from anywhere, on any device. When I last was a network admin, VPN was synonymous with “remote access”. Now it’s “private browsing” so I am having an incredibly difficult time searching for a solution that does what I need. I would really appreciate any advice.
OpenVPN or a Sonicwall SMA would be my suggestion if their current UTM doesn’t have VPN functionality.
I use SonicWalls for this. If I have offices that need to talk to each other I put a sonicwall in both locations and setup a site to site VPN. If I have remote users that need to talk to a server I setup the VPN client on their workstation and they can access from anywhere.
Check your router. Many small business routers have client VPN built-in. Meraki, Ubiquiti etc.
Do they have a firewall? I’m using a watchguard XTM300 (25ish users) for mine. SSL VPN is a bit slow, and for some reason my contractor broke the IKEv2, but it’s reliable otherwise [shrug]. Once on the network I either RDP to my workstation or one of the servers, or just access the files on my local (remote) laptop. On the computer I access with Watchguard’s SSL client (the IKEv2 was better, just connect like you’re connecting to a wifi network). On my phone I use OpenVPNconnect to get my phone on the VPN, then i use MS RDP to get to a workstation or server etc.
2012 R2 can be used for VPN access
Assuming they only have a single, physical server? Nothing virtualized?
OpenVPN is free for up to 2 users. Most of my small businesses use OpenVPN with an ubuntu appliance. Licensing for 10 or so users is about $150 a year.
If it’s a small shop and you want something simple, why not a subscription to something like “gotomypc.com”?
How many users do you plan to add to your VPN?
I looked at OpenVPM but after about an hour I quit trying to figure out how to find pricing. It’s confusing as fuck.
This is the answer you’re looking for. Especially if it’s a small business.
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Does the sonic wall client app require licensing? Does it support iOS and Android?
It’s the ATT business class router. I think it has some level of VPN capability but it would be weak and what client to use?
Pretty much this. Zerotier comes to mind too.
It does but I haven’t (easily) found much info on its ease of use with mobile devices.
Correct. They used to run VMs but now the server is just a DC and file server.
They actually used to do that but it wasn’t well liked.
2-3 at a time on a busy day.