Linux and pptpd - Geeky Stuff!

[mehstg]

Hey guys

Just messing about on my little debian server and I have decided to set up a VPN to get into my home network from my laptop.

I understand that PPTP probably isn't as secure as Ipsec, but the bigger overheads on ipsec make it a no-no as it will be slower. (I could be totally mis-informed here, maybe someone could shed some light on this also)

Any ideas how to get pptpd to bridge to my eth0 connection, as my router handles all DHCP. I have this set up and working on my Win7 box at the moment, but I would like to move it to the Linux server as i keep that on 24/7.

 

[colin79666]

http://pigtail.net/nicholas/pptp/

might be of some help

 

[mehstg]

http://pigtail.net/nicholas/pptp/

might be of some help

Cheers. I was looking at that tutorial earlier. Unfortunately, doesn't help with the bridging. I want it to throw any connected VPN users back into my network, so the router handles the IP addressing, and the VPN user can connect to any computer on the network.

P

 

[ChrisUK]

Basically what your trying to do is normally described as a "site to site" VPN.

Unfortunately the ones I've setup have always been on Cisco/Juniper kit (thus no need for pptp on linux).

 

[hmallett]

No idea about the PPTP issue, but IpSec probably won't be noticably slower for you, as you're not talking about tens or hundreds of Mbps. Even on older hardware it can do several Mbps with virtually no CPU usage.
At least that's my experience.

 

[colin79666]

If the linux box is always switched on could you disable dhcp on the router and run a dhcp demon on the linux box?

 

[jnoiles]

What spec is the linux box you're tunneling to? I've only ever used checkpoint/cisco/juniper for ipsec vpn's but if its just you connecting to your own network I'd be surprised if you maxed out the box. The tunnel set up and keying takes a bit of cpu but that's not gonna max out a box. As long as you keep the settings sensible I can't see ipsec being a problem. And it's generally speaking a better idea. Check out FreeS/wan. It's box incredibly flexible and a royal pain in the arse to setup. But it does stuff checkpoint wants thousands of pounds to do

 

[mehstg]

What spec is the linux box you're tunneling to? I've only ever used checkpoint/cisco/juniper for ipsec vpn's but if its just you connecting to your own network I'd be surprised if you maxed out the box. The tunnel set up and keying takes a bit of cpu but that's not gonna max out a box. As long as you keep the settings sensible I can't see ipsec being a problem. And it's generally speaking a better idea. Check out FreeS/wan. It's box incredibly flexible and a royal pain in the arse to setup. But it does stuff checkpoint wants thousands of pounds to do

Cheers guys

I didn't mean overheads as in maxing the box out. I was under the impression that the encapsulation around Ipsec was larger, thus making it a slower connection. Correct me if I am talking out of my arse!!

I am open to suggestions on other ways to achieve my goal though. I was messing about with hamachi, but couldn't get that working either!!

P

 

[ChrisUK]

Unfortunately you've opened a big can of worm. When it comes to VPN's there's 65535 ways to skin a fish .

 

[Argonought]

Hey guys

Just messing about on my little debian server and I have decided to set up a VPN to get into my home network from my laptop.

I understand that PPTP probably isn't as secure as Ipsec, but the bigger overheads on ipsec make it a no-no as it will be slower. (I could be totally mis-informed here, maybe someone could shed some light on this also)

Any ideas how to get pptpd to bridge to my eth0 connection, as my router handles all DHCP. I have this set up and working on my Win7 box at the moment, but I would like to move it to the Linux server as i keep that on 24/7.

Is your Linux box not multi-homed? (bit insecure if it's not )

I'd put everything on Linux and just use your router as a simple gateway but make sure it passes everything to the ext. nic (by convention eth1).

If you'd prefer to have PPTP preconfigured then you could always install SME Server which is a dedicated server disto (there's no desktop front end so be prepared for remote access )