BIM server trough VPN tunnel?

[Jan Vlach]

Hi i love to use BIM server on my local network. But now im starting a school project with my friend who is on scholarship in other country. Since none of us has static public IP and thanks to our providers we arent able to get one. So i was wonder if there is an a walkaround. On AC wiki is mentioned, that VPN tunnel could be a solution. Is anybody here who has experiences with it? We both are using Windows 7.

[Karl Ottenstein]

There is virtually 🙂 no difference between a VPN and actually being plugged into a LAN.

The plus of a VPN is simplicity of connection and security of (encrypted) data flow. The negative is if you want strangers to connect. With a BIM Server accessed via a static IP (or a dynamic IP that is re-pointed via DNS such as dyndns.com), outsiders ONLY have access to your BIM Server. With a VPN, an outsider has (potential) access to ALL of your LAN resources as if they were plugged into your office/home/etc.

Cheers,
Karl

[Jan Vlach]

Thanks to reply Karl, since we are using Evernote and Dropbox for sharing our ideas and files, the only thing we really need is to access BIM server. Since we are both students we are looking for easy (and if possible free) solution. Iv read on AC Wiki short article about using DynDNS.com so we try that. But if you (or anybody else) have VPN solution wich is easy to use and could works for as, feel free to contribute.

Thanks
Jan.

[Karl Ottenstein]

I did not notice your computer platform in your signature. If you have a Mac, VPN software (like so much else) is built-in. So, you can set up a free VPN just by setting it up and opening the proper ports on your router/firewall.

But, the dyndns approach is free and (relatively) easy for Mac or Windows.

Both require some tech savvy, which it sounds like you have.

Cheers,
Karl

[Anonymous]

Karl Ottenstein said:

If you have a Mac, VPN software (like so much else) is built-in. So, you can set up a free VPN just by setting it up and opening the proper ports on your router/firewall.

You mention a free VPN in OSX. Is a static IP required for that?

[Karl Ottenstein]

Static not necessary; you can use a service such as dyndns.com to associate a name with a dynamic IP for the VPN.

The OS X built-in VPN is free, but requires changing some modem/router settings to port-forward VPN (and possibly FTP) services to the computer acting as a server. A service such as Hamachi costs money, but requires nearly zero set-up.

If you go the OS X VPN route, you can find sites to describe how to set it up manually from Terminal, you can purchase a helper app that makes the settings for you for around $25:
http://macserve.org.uk/projects/ivpn/
or you you can upgrade to a server version of OS X which provides a UI for setup. For Lion users, the upgrade to Lion Server is only $50 I think.

You can try LogMeIn's VPN product, called Hamachi for free and not deal with local machine setup, router setup (particularly if you are in a setting where you cannot change router settings) ... but if you want to keep using it, there are monthly/annual fees for commercial use.
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/licensing.aspx

Karl

Cheers,
Karl