Hey, I have a client who has a firewalled server which I need to access. Obviously the best thing is for him to add my IP to the firewall to allow me in and carry out the changes I need to make for his web site. The problem is that I don't have a static IP address and my ISP does not provide one, even as an upgrade or add-on to my current service. I can't change ISP as I am on a contract for the next 9 months with them... So I am looking for an alternative solution which will give me a secure static IP address. I have been reading about VPN's, but I have never used one before and I am not sure if using one would solve the problem. Can anyone shed some light on VPN's or alternative solutions to my problem?
In your case i would suggest that a VPN would be the best way, you would just have to make sure that the VPN you use has a static IP and that IP is then added to your clients firewall
Hi Josh, Thanks for the reply. The service I have been looking at is VPN UK, this is the package. So if I set that up as per the instructions on their site and add the IP to the firewall on the server, I will then be able to FTP to the server or use remote desktop to login and access the database (it's a windows system).
Hiya Looking at that i would say thats the best way to go. They also offer a 24hr money back gurantee so if it doesnt work for you then they will get you a full refund.
Hi, Martin, as I see the services which you are going to use are a bit pricey. From the personal experience I suggest change-mon-ip vpn provider that is offering stable and perfrmance connections for affordable prices
Hi, are you affiliated with that company? I am not concerned so much with price but more so with security and stability. The company I am thinking of going with has been around for quite a while however they do not have any dedicated services available at the moment unfortunately and I need to get this sorted as soon as possible. If your not affiliated with that company, what exactly is your experience with them? What do you use it for and how often? Any downtime, etc?
I am disagree with using VPN as it is not cost-efficient, the best way should be allowing root login using SSH key.
Why would I advise a client to open up his firewall to the world so that I can have SSH access. That'd probably lose me the job in the first place. Besides which it's a Windows machine and I need RDC access not SSH. I am just waiting for VPN UK to finish their maintenance so I can order a dedicated account with them.
Just thought I would let you all know that I ordered a dedicated VPN with VPN UK when they became available again on Monday this week after they completed their scheduled maintenance. I am extremely happy with the service thus far, right from the get go... placing the order was very easy, all the instructions were clear about what would happen and when. I received my VPN details within a few hours as promised and setting up the VPN was a breeze as they have great instructions with screenshots covering all the operating systems. I hit one snag with my firewall, but they even had a tutorial on their web site showing me how to sort that out. The actual service has been great too, very fast speeds on their 1Gbit ports. I have been through my clients firewall and used RDC to connect to his windows machine, I have configured some of my own Linux servers to only allow incoming SSH connections through this VPN IP... All in all, a top service that I highly recommend for anyone else who might be facing the same situation I was with a client.
Open VPN would help tie your 2 networks together or as long as you don't power off/on your router and modem, you should have a dynamically assigned IP for at least a short while.