Category Archives: Networking
Geek Friday: Understanding Home Networking
From time to time, I get questions about what is needed for home networking. Sometimes, people try to explain a problem over the phone, and it is difficult to know if they really understand the difference between the modem and the router. Throw in wireless networking, and it can overwhelm people who really just want to make things work.
Think of it like your car. You aren’t expected to be an expert to drive a car. However, it comes in very handy to know what brakes do, that the oil and oil filter needs to be changed regularly, what tire rotation entails from a high level, etc. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to make decisions about servicing the vehicle.
Home networking is sort of the same. You aren’t expected to be a networking expert, but it helps to know what piece of hardware controls your wi-fi when it isn’t working. It also helps to know what type of equipment you are working with so you know whether or not you really need that disk the ISP sent you, as I’ve seen people mess up their connections by running disks for DSL modems when they are connected to a router.
Well, the How-To Geek has several good geeky articles, but they have a full well-written article on “HTG Explains: Understanding Routers, Switches, and Network Hardware”, which includes diagrams to help see how things are supposed to be physically connected.
One thing they do not get into, and it is somewhat outside the scope of their article, is that some ISPs offer wi-fi router and modem combinations. Instead of having two physical boxes, you only have one. While this reduces flexibility, it does help when you have to reset it, as you only need to be concerned with troubleshooting and resetting a single box.
Resetting TCP/IP in Windows XP Sometimes Doesn’t Work After Rootkit Malware
Microsoft has KB article 299357 that supposedly assists in resetting your Windows XP TCP/IP network settings back “to its original state”. I assume under normal circumstances that it works correctly, but after a malware attack, it may or may not work, it seems.
As a background, there are rootkits out there that will infect the TCP/IP stack. However, TDSSKiller from Kaspersky, which is good at detecting a lot of rootkits, does not find all of them. In addition, Surfright’s Hitman Pro, which usually catches what others might miss, does not detect it either. Combofix was able to detect the infection, but DHCP would still not work on the client. Instead, it sat there saying “Acquiring network address”.
Geek Friday: Home Office Networking Definitions
OK, you want a home office network. What should you know before starting? Well, before you can get it set up, you need to decide what type of network you need. Before you can tell someone what you need, though, to be able to ask and understand the answers, it helps to know some definitions.
So, let’s get some terminology out of the way:
Geek Friday: Installing VPN on a Windows 2008 R2 Server
I’ve seen a few guides for installing VPN on a Windows 2008 Server, but some are not for R2 and others are just too confusing, IMO. However, I finally came across “How to Install VPN on Windows Server 2008 R2” on the Thomas Maurer blog. It has step-by-step instructions with screenshots. Best of all, it doesn’t assume you have two network interface cards (NICs) in the machine. Most of the instructions I have seem in the past get very confusing if you only have one NIC.
One of the neat things about the instructions is that it shows how to setup a static IP pool, which may or may not be necessary depending upon how your DHCP server works.
Review: iTunes Home Sharing Disappoints
I keep looking for easier ways to play and track different types of media between devices without it costing an arm and a leg. There are still a few podcasts I like to listen to, and listening to them on my iPhone on the go works well enough as well as sync’ing them with my laptop. However, to go one step further and play them on my home theater PC (HTPC) without losing track of which ones I’ve already played adds a layer of complexity.
Well, I have been using FreeFileSync to copy my iTunes library with my updated playlists of podcasts between my laptop and my HTPC. I finally decided to give iTunes Home Sharing a try.
German Scientists Break 26 Tb/s Data Transmission
What bogs down network bandwidth more than video? Not much. Scientists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology recently decided they needed 26 Terabits per second speed. Since it didn’t exist, they invented it. The result, as Gizmag reported 23 May, is a “World record 26 terabits per second data transmission achieved”.
According to the article, this means that 700 full DVDs could be transmitted in one second. That should boggle your mind for a moment.
The Virtual Network Computing (VNC) Face-Off
It’s a somewhat older article, but dbuggr has a useful “VNC Comparison and Review: TightVNC Vs UltraVNC Vs RealVNC”. The article summarizes the features of the three most popular software programs.
Personally, I use UltraVNC because of its “single click” capability. I can put an executable on a website and have customers download it for remote access to their machines. However, I am partial to TightVNC for other applications because it is one of the most light-weight and, from my experience, bug-free VNCs out there.
What’s your favorite?
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard Now Available, Essentials Coming 1 May
Microsoft has announced its availability for the Standard edition of Windows Small Business Server 2011. Furthermore, the Essentials edition, good for up to 25 users, will be available 1 May 2011. You can read more about them on the Editions Overview page at Microsoft’s website.
Typically, I have suggested that small businesses opt for Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation edition. However, that’s only a valid option if you are buying new hardware, since Foundation is only licensed to OEMs. If you, for instance, just want to upgrade your Windows 2003 Server, you have to go with Standard, which costs about 50 – 75% of a new server with Foundation anyhow. At least with a new server, you get a one year warranty right at the beginning going through Dell.
Now, small businesses will have the option of going with something that is competitively priced without changing hardware. Plus, SBS 2011 offers significant improvements in workstation backups (check OS availability first). In addition, Microsoft promises easier access to data via “a personalized web address” and better connectivity via the cloud. In fact, Essentials is geared towards connectivity between locations, while Standard is more geared towards a complete “on-premises” solution.
Sources:
Geek Monday: VPN on Windows 2008 R2
This is a belated Geek Friday posting. I spent a significant portion of last week nailing down a VPN issue on Windows 2008 R2 Foundation Server. The setup of the server seemed like it should have been straight-forward enough, but of course it was not. Another case of configuration tools making too many assumptions and sparse documentation, I guess.
VPN is one of those things that it really a necessity on the road. Even if your data is super-ultra-top secret, you don’t want thieves and crooks having access either to your sensitive information or your home network. VPN isn’t so much about security as it is about privacy. In other words, it keeps others from viewing your data while it is being transmitted back and forth. If you use coffee shops, airports or other open networks, it is a necessity.
What is neat about setting up a VPN server is:
1. You can have a server that will hold your important data. If you wish, you can keep all of your data on the server so that if your laptop is stolen, you don’t have to worry about someone viewing the data on it.
2. You can setup automatic backups on the server to run even when you aren’t around.
3. You don’t have to purchase VPN from some unknown agency.
While this won’t solve all of your security needs, it certainly can take care of a number of them if maintained properly.
Here’s the thing: I would think the setup I was trying to get going would be fairly common for a small business. However, most of the directions I saw made various assumptions that simply aren’t necessarily true.
First off, it is possible to setup VPN on a server with one network interface card (NIC). After racking my brain on a number of items, I was beginning to wonder. Most of the instructions for 2008 R2 are for two NICs, and most that I could find for one NIC was for 2003 Server, which got me a little worried. Someone else had some weird ideas about using the loopback interface, which I never figured out what that was about.
I would think most small businesses will have a fairly simple setup with a workgroup server sitting behind a router, the router handling DHCP and any NAT that is required. If you have Windows XP or below for clients, then you need to go with PPTP. If all of your clients are Vista or higher, you can go with one of the other protocols that is more secure.
I finally found “How to install and configure VPN on Windows 2008”. It goes through and gets you about 95% of the way there. Look for the Next and Previous links below the screenshots to navigate back and forth.
Do not install NAT if you have a router that already handles the DHCP and DNS services. You will need to set aside some static IP addresses instead. Open up the Routing and Remote Access, right-click and select Properties. On the next screen, click on the IPv4 tab and click on the Static address pool radio button.
Click on Edit and put in a range that won’t be dished out via DHCP. Be sure you give a generous enough range so that IP address leases won’t conflict as people move around.
In order for either PPTP or IP Protocol 47 GRE to work, you’ll need to make sure your router forwards TCP port 1723 to the server. L2TP uses UDP port 1701. IPSec needs UDP port 500 forwarded for negotiation, and the firewall needs to allow passthrough on IP Protocols 50 and 51. Check your router manual for how to do this.
You can test it out once the client is connected by opening a Run box and typing in “\<server name>” in the edit box and see if you can connect to the server. If that works, try doing a Remote Desktop Connection to the server and logging in.
If you cannot connect, disable firewalls on client and server and try again. If disabling the firewalls works, then re-enable them one at a time to determine which is the problem. If disabling firewalls do not work, it is probably the firewall on the router.
Hopefully, the above and your router documentation will be enough to setup a small office Windows 2008 R2 Foundation Server with VPN using PPTP.
Geek Friday: Sharing a Printer on a Network
A lot of printers these days are wireless. That’s good for sharing a printer in a home or small office. However, some printers have a wireless option but you have to order the card separately, and the user doesn’t realize it when they order it. Even more often, though, you might have an older printer that you are constantly unplugging from one computer to plug it into another. That can cause wear and tear as well as just plain being a pain.
The good news is that you don’t have to have a wifi printer to print from another computer. You also don’t necessarily have to buy one of those expensive print server boxes if you have a standard desktop that is left on all the time (or, at least during the times you want to print).
These instructions are all over the net, but I hope that by providing you links here, I can save you some time looking.
What you need: A desktop (or a stationary laptop), Windows XP or higher and a printer that is setup and already working off of the desktop. You might want to check the website of your printer manufacturer for drivers for each of the operating systems you’ll be installing on as well.
What is not recommended: A printer that hangs off of a Windows XP machine but you are trying to print from Windows Vista. It can work, but it is a pain. I’ll save that for last.
First, you need to make sure everyone is in the same workgroup or domain, especially if you have any machines not running Windows 7 with a homegroup setup. The default network configuration for home users is a workgroup setup, while medium or large businesses will have a domain server that controls all access on the network.
To further make things messy, the default workgroup name on Windows XP Home Edition was “MSHOME”, while Vista and 7 have the default of “WORKGROUP”. Some links to check/change workgroups: Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Next, make sure you have the same usernames and matching passwords on all machines. If you attempt to print from Windows Vista to a printer hanging off of Windows XP without passwords, you might as well start banging your head against the wall right now.
Assuming Vista isn’t one of your concerns, you can follow Microsoft’s directions for sharing a printer attached to a Windows XP machine on “Sharing Printers”. They include instructions for sharing the printer and connecting to it from Windows XP machines.
You can probably use the above steps on any Windows operating system, but Microsoft has also published instructions for sharing a printer and connecting to it on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
If you are trying to print on a printer running Windows XP and want to print from Windows Vista, or even if you are trying to print from Windows 7 and having difficulty, see the article “‘Windows cannot connect to the printer. Access is denied’ -please help.”
I think these instructions will handle the most common cases. If you still run into a specific problem, you can usually Google the answer readily and find it in a few minutes.
