[geeks] VPN

[Geoffrey S. Mendelson]

Before you go looking at the big guys, look at some of the better home routers.

I just purchased a dl-link 614+ router for $125 complete with a laptop
(windows only) WiFi card. There is also a non Wifi version.

It does not need to be rack mounted, it is the size of a large 5 port
hub. It runs on 5v DC, 1 amp.(wall wart included).

It has a WAN port in, 4 LAN ports out (all 10/100 auto switch, autopolarity)
and a WiFi access point.

The router is configurable from the LAN ports via a web server, you can
enable configuration from the WAN side too. The big advantage to me is
that has a Java app built in to save and reload configs from your
computer. Note that the web config did not work well with I.E. 5.2 under
panther, but works well with Safari and I.E. 6.1 on XP.

It supports a VPN, plus VPN passthrough, NAT, timed useage limitations
etc. The WAN side supports direct connection with/without DHCP, PPPoe and
a few other protocols if you want to VPN from the router to another site.

The default is all ports open going out, and no ports open going in.

There is special support for "virtual servers", so you can run things
like FTP without doing it in passive mode, but I did not investigate
them. I just felt it was easier to use scp. This is FTP via ftp,
ftp via http, such as with a web browser works fine. 

If you do buy the WiFi version and don't have wireless connections, you
can turn it off. If you use their cards (and selected others) you can
send your data over the WiFi link with 256 bit key encryption, enough to
prevent the casual "visitor" from listening in. 

If you do buy one, check the antenna settings, mine was set wrong after
a "factory reset".

Linksys (Cisco), Edimax, and a bunch of other companies sell similar
products. 

Geoff.
-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson gsm at mendelson.com