[WEB4LIB] Which address does a VPN user show

[Dennis Brantley]

Julia Schult wrote:
> 
> When a user dials up a local ISP, and then uses that
> connection to log on to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), and
> then goes to a site on the Internet, does the Internet site
> see the IP address of the local ISP or that of the VPN?
> 
> The answer is probably "depends"; does it depend on how the
> VPN is set up both in terms of default route and where the
> VPN server is in relation to the firewall?
> 
> In real terms:
> 
> We are trying to solve the remote database access problem,
> and are wondering if our campus VPN will do that.  Can we
> set it up so that users can access our IP-authenticated
> databases from home by logging on to our campus VPN?  Or
> would we still have to set up a proxy server?  Could they do
> it if they ran Netscape on a campus server, instead of on
> their home machine, and what cans of worms would that open?
> 

Not sure about the VPN question, but the Netscape part is 'yes'.  I have
several sites that allow remote users to run a browser on the campus LAN
using WinFrame or NT4.0 or 2000 Terminal Services w/MetaFrame.  Since
the browser is running on a server that has a valid IP address, the
users can access IP-authenticated resources.

Can of worms?  Maybe a small can of small worms.  The user has to get
use to the notion that the browser is not on their own PC.  And if the
user does use their -own- browser to get to the server where the -other-
browser is, well, then they've got two browsers open, and it can be a
bit confusing initially.  Also, currently the multi-NT technologies
mentioned are limited to 256 colors, which can take some of the joy out
of surfing, though that is not always a bad thing.  The next release of
MetaFrame (2.0) is supposed to allow more color options, but we'll see.

--
Dennis Brantley  mailto:dennis at dati.com
Data Access Technologies, Inc.
Internet/Remote Access - CD Networking - Thin Client Computing
Citrix Solutions Partner/Citrix Education Solutions Provider