Tag: VPN

There were times when we were looking for simple yet unorthodox solutions; and this case was one of them. Imagine, if there was a Windows 2012 server with its standard VPN service (RAS, or, Remote Access, actually), configured and operational. The only problem was that static IP of the server (as seen by a connected user) was not up at all times. For instance, assume DHCP IP range for VPN clients was 172.0.2.1 – 172.0.2.199. That makes first address of the range, 172.0.2.1 the server’s address that is accessible by VPN clients (inside VPN tunnel). When server just started that IP would be down – not even pingable, let alone not routable. The IP address becomes live as soon as first VPN client is connected from outside to the RAS service. That presented a challenge for application jobs configured to run in both modes: locally on the server and from remote locations connected to the server. We would configure 172.0.2.1 as a universal connection point for all the applications and grant proper server firewall exclusions, though… they would not be able to connect if no external users connected to the VPN service yet.

Just a quick note as we have had a few reports lately that Shrewsoft VPN client package for Mac OS X (El Capitan release) was missing in main homebrew repository. That caused troubles for folks trying to use our recipe on that subject from last year.

When we got to upgrade our Macbook Pro to the all new Mac OS X 10.11, we surely liked its slick new style and interface improvements. And what not to like. The only drawback was that our Shrew Soft VPN client has fallen victim of the new ship commander.