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Browsing from a VPN Ras connection

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9 replies

by robertd. 1 view

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When making a VPN connection from a 98 client to a Windows 2000 server (server, not advanced server) clients connect fine thru a hardware firewall getting an IP address from a local DHCP server, and a local WINS server, but most of the time cannot browse the local network. You can find a system by either system name or IP address. You can ping it, but browsing the network is intermittent.
Local systems using the same DHCP server with IP only are able to browse.
What can I do to see/browse the network consistently? Thanks, Robert

9 replies

by shmaltz

This is known issue in VPN clients. In my experience the only way to get VPN clients to browse the network was either:
by using LMHOSTS files on the client computers.
or:
by using NETBeui on the VPN server and VPN clients (you dont have to install the NETBeui on all the computers in your netwrok just on the VPN server and VPN clients, I never tried this on a network that had more than one segment so if thats your case I dont know if NETBeui is an option).

by shmaltz

After re-reviweing your question I just want to add:
Rather than having the same DHCP sever that you use for the LAN set up a static IP address pool on the VPN server to give out IP addresses for the VPN clients. You dont have to worry about the WINS setting b/c the VPN server passes along its own WINS settings to the VPN clients.

by nettek

The suggestion in the first answer will work. However, there may be an easier solution. Win 9x often has trouble retrieving WINs server addresses when it requests them from a DHCP server. Before using cumbersome LMHOST files or adding extra protocols, try manually inputting the WINs server address in the TCP/IP properties on the client's DUN settings.

by gregory pleau

Add an LMHOSTS file to the client computer with the RAS server's name and address. The RAS computers are using the SERVER's WINS and DNS entries, so a route add in the login script is another clever way to solve the problem. (Ie, add the lmhosts to the laptop, then in the login script, use an "if exist" to identify the remote user, then trigger a route add command setting the RAS as the gateway or the actual gateway on your network"

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