Good day,
I have a scenario where i have 3 locations that connect to the internet via 3G (as there is no adsl lines). The scenario is depicted in the image below.
The main office contains the server which the two remote locations need to access. They only need to access a program called “pastel” for accounting. They do not need to see all of the other computers, network services etc. In other words they only reason for linking the locations is to give the 2 remote sites access to the software on the server. The best way would be to remote desktop in to the server and then make use of the program on the server.
What would be my best way to go about doing this?
I was thinking of possibly making a vpn server on the RB at the main office and then VPN clients on the remote sites RB. But the issue with that is that 3G does not have incoming data. you cant port forward or use dyndns.org
Another option which seems the simplest, but i think it will be slow is to use team viewers between the server and the pc’s at the remote sites as team viewer does not need any port forwarding or incoming traffic. But when running over wireless 3G connections I don’t think the response time of the software will be any good to work over.
What other viable solutions are there that could help me with my problem.
Thanks
If your 3G clients receive an address that is NATed, then you have no other options then TeamViewer or a similiar software. If you can terminate a public IP on the main office’s 3G connection, that would open up a lot of options.
Contact your 3G provider, many 3G providers will let you have a public IP on the 3G client for a small fee. (Example: In Slovakia, for a one-time 3 eur fee, I can have public IP on 3G.)
If i am able to get hold of an external IP, What solutions would you suggest?
Could this not work?
Have a vpn server that is on the internet. then all the 3G clients can then connect to that vpn and therefore see each other? Kinda like a online vpn hub.
Yes, that is how it would work. You have a central AC (access concentrator), that all the clients connect to. That can then supply secure communication between the clients and the network that is behind the AC.
I suggest using L2TP over IPSec.
Are there any online services that provide such functions?
Not that I know of. And since all the data would be passing through a 3rd party server, I wouldnt advise using such a service if you find one.
If you are using Vodacom you should contact them to unrestrict your sim card. After that you can use any port you like. This you only need to do on the server side.
I would go for remote desktop and not vpn, Pastel is very sensitive and can easily get corrupt data and a unstable network. Using remote desktop you can also print where you like, local or remote.
As far as I know pastel has a add-on module for using it on remote sites, you can contact pastel to find out more.
Hope this helps