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dhpc over pptp

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by saltdogg21

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A remote site only has user workstations. They are on DHCP to obtain their IP address. They must contact the DHCP server over a PPTP link. There is no default gateway configured in DHCP or the PC itself.

How do the PCs in the remote site find the DHCP server over a PPTP link? How does the remote site know to pass things to the router with no default gateway configured?

6 replies

by cg it

Routing and Remote Access for remote client domain access is where the configuration parameters your asking about are [including providing remote clients with an IP address via a static pool or via DHCP].

by saltdogg21

I understand that is where the configuration parameters are located. In this configuration, the remote site must contact the server for that information.
I am wondering how the packets from the pc manage to find their way to the router to be routed to the main site with no default gateway configured. It is a mystery to me.

by curlergirl

If they connect through PPTP, they are getting their IP addresses from the RAS server (could be the same physical server as the DHCP server, or not). If the RAS server is using DHCP, then it caches a certain number of addresses (depending upon the number of VPN connections you have configured) and hands them out to clients as/when they connect. The RAS server could also be set up to simply serve out a certain specified group of IP addresses in the local subnet and ignore the DHCP server entirely. The remote workstations don't need a default gateway, unless they are going to browse out to the Internet through the VPN connection. Then, they would have to be set to use the default gateway on the remote network in order to browse the Internet. Look at the following article number on the MS Knowledgebase for a more complete explanation: 160699.

Hope this helps!

by curlergirl

Having read your comment to the previous answer - I guess there is a router at the remote end? Do you know what the IP and VPN setup is on this router? That would probably answer the question - if the router is maintaining a full-time PPTP tunnel to the main office, then users would always have connectivity on the local subnet and wouldn't need a default gateway. Of course, they wouldn't be able to directly browse the Internet through that router (or at all, for that matter if they have no default gateway setting).

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