OK – maybe you don’t think it’s cool, but I’m dead chuffed with myself. Following on from the installation of a Samba’d network RAID drive that I chronicled here I set myself another task – not much of one for all the ‘real’ sysadmins out there, but a new thing for me. I decided that I wanted secure external access to the network drive for additional users. This involves creating a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which essentially means that another machine becomes part of your network using a secure connection over the internet, as if they were actually there.
In my case, this meant getting to know OpenVPN, an open source option (surprise, surprise). A big hand here must go to Omahn, one of the #lugradio faithful, who answered all my n00b questions. Then I loaded up the OpenVPN Windows GUI and, with a bit of port shuffling and a load of hassle with the web interface of the ADSL modem in the church office, I was able to make a connection. And, as the main coup de gras, I was then able to map the network drive as if I was sitting in the office itself.
Not very exciting, really. But it was for me, I can guarantee. I guess you just had to be there…..
mrBen
