Access files using VPN?

Hi thanks for the responses.  I tried what both of you said, but it didnt seem to work.  I might not be typing in the correct ip address though- on the network that the server is a part of, its' local ip is 192.168.1.10 but when i type that in on the client taht is connected to the vpn server, it gives me the "cannot find this" error.  i went into the properties of the vpn connection on the client and it said the ip was 192.168.103, but that just showed the network shares of the client computer.  i even tried going to \\[name of vpn server here], but i got the same old "cannot find this" error.  any other suggestions?

and i have 1723 forwarded.

thanks,
-Kyle

YEA!!! I was just playing around with the TCP/IP properties, and i specified a range in there, and then reconnected and i in the properties, it showed the server ip and the client ip as 2 different things, so i typed in \\[server ip] and it showed me the shares!!! thanks so much to both of you!

Sounds like you have it. That is great.
Point is if the server has an IP of  192168.1.10 (i.e. 192.168.1.x) then the network at the client site must use something different like 192.168.2.x. The Virtual VPN adapter can be different, that is determined by your configuration in RRAS on the server, but it is easier if it uses the same 192.168.1.x subnet for the VPN client, so that no static routes have to be entered to access other computers/servers on the same network.

Thanks for the update, and points.
Cheers.
--Rob

if a network has a ip of 192.168.1.x, it CANNOT talk to a network with 192.168.2.x, except for VPN.  is that statement correct?

Yes.
If you are on the same network segment, i.e a typical LAN, the subnets must be the same. If you are separated by a router, they must be different, such as with a VPN.

The issue is router route packets based on the subnet to which they belong. If you sent a packet to the server at 192.168.1.10, and the local subnet is the same, the roting devices assume it is destined for a local server/workstation/printer and do not forward the packets.

gotcha. i learned more than i thought i would on this one, thanks for the help!

Hi again, it was working for a few days, and now I added another router to the network, and I cannot seem to figure out what is going wrong.  I have different subnets for each of the routers (192.168.1.x and 192.168.2.x).  I have port 1723 forwarded to the server computer (thats on the 192.168.2.x), and i am trying to connect from a computer on the 192.168.1.x) subnet.  when i try to connect, it gets hung on verifying the username and password.  do you have any idea why it would do that? thanks again!

-Kyle

Where did you add the other router, between the Internet and the VPN device ? If so VPN's do not like that.

no. take a look at this, it is how everything is set up now. http://www11.asphost4free.com/kylen1010/ee/ee.jpg im trying to access the vpn from one of the "computers"  thanks!

No need for port forwarding in this scenario as you are on the LAN side of the new router. It may be a routing issue. Can the connecting computers ping the VPN server, indicating they can 'find the route' ?
Also does it ultimately give you an error number such as 616, 800, 721...

I can ping the VPN server LAN ip from the client
I can ping the VPN server internet ip and/or domain name from the client
I can connect to the VPN by connecting to LAN ip (192.168.2.10), but not by the internet ip or domain name
when i try to connect using the internet ip, i get a 721 error after it pauses at username and password for a long time.
I did a "telnet [domain name] 1723" to see if i could connect to the port, but that was fine
Also, I realized that I can access all the resources of the VPN Server from the client w/o VPN by going to \\192.168.2.10
Also, I realized that I can connect from a computer outside of the LAN.

So really, I'm just sort of curious why it isnt working at this point.  I dont really NEED to connect to the VPN server from the client using VPN, because I can just go to \\192.168.2.10, and outside the LAN, it works fine.  
-Kyle

>>"I can connect to the VPN by connecting to LAN ip (192.168.2.10), but not by the internet ip or domain name"
It's unlikely you will be able to connect to the VPN server from those workstations using the LAN IP or Domain Name. In order to do so the packets would be sent to the Internet and then have to be routed back internally by the main router, effectively making a 'U' turn. Most routers do not support this.

gotcha, that makes sense. thanks again for your help!!!

Very welcome.
--Rob