VPN focus group Return to list of focus groups

 

Remote access

      Dial-up via ISP

      Launch vpn client

      Now have a tunnel

      Connect to internal servers

      Use to get to any network resources behind the firewall

 

How is it better than timbuktu?

vpn is encrypted, tumbuktu can go to ports, the ports can be configured to be closed to all but certain clients. This is not scalable.

 

vpn is like being on the network. IP address got from the internal network.

 

Checkpoint with vpn? How to configure?

Choate, has Cisco Pix, thin client with citrix or windows terminal services.

(John Shannon is installing 16 citrix servers to put everything on citrix)

 

It will be really slow for client server.

Broadband made a difference.

Windows XP with lots of ram makes a difference.

 

Give access to off campus faculty, traveling interface.

Client login same as winnt.

 

VPN will not run with AOL. AOL runs a tunnel and you cannot run two tunnels at the same time.

Choate is trying to find an ISP that has international access.

 

Cisco’s client is on their website and can be downloaded. You cannot use a web browser to launch connection or a mac.

 

VPN does two things

authentication

encyption

 

Can use as a layer three device with VPN to connect two buildings.

 

Traveling administrators

There are lots of ways to give them access

WebDab, ftp, dialin

but vpn is cleaner and easier to support.

If going to use an administrative application, use a thin client, not VPN.

 

Implementation cost about $8000 for just windows clients to work from home. Use Blackboard to craft courses from home.

 

VPN authentication just a login.

Mac can run pc programs fron a citrix server.

You can map drives on a citrix server to allow users to save files.

Citrix server inside the firewall, ports open.

VPN allows encryption.

Citrix servers partition memory per user. Joel thinks that a gig of RAM would support 60 users.

There are citrix clients for pda’s.

To do a whole school, you need a bunch of servers.

Citrix servers do automatic load balancing.

 

At the Hunt School the library is all Citrix because the library applications are perfect for Citrix.

Citrix is not really meant to put out the processor intensive applications.