Re: XP remote connect to Win2K PC?

From: Jonathan Finney (jon_at_isotrack.com)
Date: 10/15/04 

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 16:38:43 +0100

Thanks again, Bill.

I have read some MS articles on using Offline Files and have also downloaded
and installed the Second Copy trial. The problem with both is that they
assume that you already have access to the other computer and refer to the
different locations a if they were connected via a LAN. This is not the
case and I have no idea how to set this up or where to find help with this.
My ISP was not much help - he was able to show me where to enter the IP
addresses and port numbers to program my Zyxel router, but wasn't able to
tell me what they should be.

Since this is obviously a very common need, I assume I must have been asking
the wrong questions because I have seen nothing that begins to cover the
procedure for setting up the connection in the first place (VPN tunnel?).

Any ideas how I find help on this? 

-- 
Jonathan Finney
"Bill Sanderson" <Bill_Sanderson@msn.com.plugh.org> wrote in message
news:O7euLcssEHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> I've a user who keeps a laptop at home and only brings it to the office to
> synch every few months.  She'd like to use a (1 gig) USB key to do the
> synching by carrying that back and forth.
>
> I'm looking at SC for that functionality.  I see that some USB key vendors
> have (usually extra cost) apps to do this job that are tied to their
> hardware.
>
> It seems to me that the devil is in the details in this kind of an
app--and
> I don't have a solid enough feeling for how SC works to be unequivocally
> positive.  Lanwench does have that level of experience, I believe!
>
> The strength I see in Offline Files is that they've made it simple--very
> little user interface--no complicated sets of options to set, etc.
Because
> the underlying process is, in fact, rather complex, this can lead to some
> issues which are hard to manage--although the number of tools needed are
> quite small--there's a KB article on how to blow away and reestablish the
> cache if there are issues of corruption with it, and there's a Windows
> Server 2003 Resource Kit applet that allows for manual control of several
> crucial details of the cache behavior which is sometimes useful.
>
> I haven't seen the data loss issues directly, but I've only a few users
> using the feature--I have cetainly seen threads here with such issues, but
> don't have a clear fix on what went wrong.  For example, the cache files
are
> tied to a serial number for the user in a domain, and if the domain
changes
> (as with a neighbor who changed jobs)--the cache becomes inaccessable.  He
> was sure he was OK because he synched carefully before leaving the job,
but,
> in fact, the files were inaccessable.  I now suspect this could have been
> fixed with the Resource Kit applet, but I didn't know about that at the
> time, and he was able to get the old job to send him the files.  So--there
> are "legitimate" causes for the cache becoming inaccessable, and then
there
> are the other kind--which I haven't followed the feature in enough depth
to
> try to pin down.
>
> I like offline files--it is dead simple to use, and the users find it easy
> to understand.  However, if I'd been having data lost issues, I'd go
> elsewhere quickly, or if I needed more flexibility--as with the USB key
> transfer system.
>
>
> "Jonathan Finney" <jon@isotrack.com> wrote in message
> news:416ea2a1$0$103$65c69314@mercury.nildram.net...
> > Thanks for a very comprehensive explanation, Bill.
> >
> > I can see that this could be an issue where large amounts of data had to
> > be
> > transferred, but once the initial copy of several GB of data had been
> > performed, hopefully the relatively small number of files changed within
a
> > day would not present too much of a problem.
> >
> > I'm concerned about the instances of data loss mentioned by Lanwench and
> > have asked her for more details.  Have you heard of similar occurrences?
> > If
> > we're talking about the possibility of files at both ends becoming
> > damaged,
> > I'll pay the $30 and go for the SC option.  It also sounds like it might
> > be
> > easier to set up and manage with a dedicated application as a front end.
> > Would you agree?
> >
> > -- 
> >
> > Jonathan Finney
> >
> > "Bill Sanderson" <Bill_Sanderson@msn.com.plugh.org> wrote in message
> > news:eSfvXbTsEHA.2632@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> >> SMB is Server Message Block, apparently invented by IBM:
> >>
> >> http://www.javvin.com/protocolSMB.html
> >>
> >> It is what any windows networking implementation has used since time
> >> immemorial.
> >>
> >> The current standard is CIFS which is also mentioned in this
definition.
> >>
> >> VPN is not necessarily slow--the speed depends on the infrastructure
you
> > are
> >> connecting across.
> >>
> >> If you have a 100mbps full duplex ethernet, and use a VPN connection
> > across
> >> that, for security, the speed difference may be negligable, I suspect,
> >> but
> >> haven't tested.  There's processor power going into the
> >> encryption/decryption at both ends, but if more than enough of that is
> >> available, it shouldn't impact speed.  I haven't looked up the details
of
> >> the overhead in individual packets--versus unencrypted traffic.  I'm
sure
> >> there's some.
> >>
> >> What I meant by slow is that if you are connecting across the Internet,
> > many
> >> common connection types these days are not equally fast in both
> > directions.
> >> The "A" in ADSL is for assymetric, meaning that the connection is
faster
> > in
> >> one direction than in the other.  The same is true for common cable
> >> connections, as I understand it.
> >>
> >> So--the speed of your connection may be limited by the uplink speed at
> >> the
> >> site the data is flowing from.  Using Remote Desktop, for example,
speed
> >> issues are almost unnoticable--because of compression and great care
> >> bandwidth use.  However, when you are using normal networking protocols
> > over
> >> that same connection and moving large amounts of data--as you may be in
> >> doing an initial synch on offline files, the basic link speed is going
to
> >> limit how fast things go.  If you are lucky, and the source is a
> >> workplace
> >> with a large upload speed to the Internet, this may not be a problem.
> >>
> >> Many here are accustomed to the speeds that RDP achieves over such
> >> connections and are startled when they try an actual file transfer or
> > other
> >> bulk data movement over the same underlying connection and are bitten
by
> > the
> >> relative speed (or lack thereof!) of the link--so I try to remind
folks.
> >>
> >> "Jonathan Finney" <jon@isotrack.com> wrote in message
> >> news:416d31ac$0$112$65c69314@mercury.nildram.net...
> >> > Sorry, Bill.
> >> >
> >> > I've heard of VPN, but didn't know it was slow.  Where can I read
more
> >> > about
> >> > this?
> >> >
> >> > What's SMB?
> >> >
> >> > -- 
> >> >
> >> > Jonathan Finney
> >> >
> >> > "Bill Sanderson" <Bill_Sanderson@msn.com.plugh.org> wrote in message
> >> > news:e7JMGx8rEHA.3728@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> >> >> Offline files works with any source offering SMB networking--this
> >> >> includes
> >> >> the 9.x versions of Windows, and, I suspect, Linux implementations
of
> >> >> SMB.
> >> >>
> >> >> As Lanwench mentions, it isn't available in XP Home, but that isn't
> > what
> >> > you
> >> >> have at home.
> >> >>
> >> >> I don't have experience with trying to use this feature in a
situation
> >> > where
> >> >> you are only connecting via a slow VPN link, but you can definitely
> >> >> try
> >> >> it
> >> >> out.
> >> >>
> >> >> You might want to try both mechanisms--the third-party one and the
> > native
> >> >> one.  I don't have a strong opinion about this--they both look well
> >> > designed
> >> >> to me, and I haven't had a lot of complaint about the offline files
> >> >> feature--I use it mainly with laptop users who grab a machine and
take
> > it
> >> >> off-network for periods of time, though.
> >> >>
> >> >> "Jonathan Finney" <jon@isotrack.com> wrote in message
> >> >> news:416a9d4a$0$110$65c69314@mercury.nildram.net...
> >> >> >I have a broadband connection at work and home and I'd like to get
> >> >> >access
> >> >> >to
> >> >> > my data partition at work (3 PCs on a Win2K PTP LAN) from my home
PC
> >> >> > (running XP Pro).
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I need to get read/write access to the shared partition where all
my
> >> > data
> >> >> > files are held.  I don't mind if I have to have a duplicate set of
> > data
> >> >> > files at home and sync the files/folders.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I understand that XP has a sync folders facility, but suspect that
> > both
> >> >> > ends
> >> >> > need to be running XP for this to work.  Is this so?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > What other options do I have to achieve this?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > -- 
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Jonathan Finney
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

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