VPN Licensing...still confused...

[chaeron]

I've read the posts, the FAQ, the licensing info and the like but am still confused as to how many licenses I need, and this is for a long time WinGate user!

Here's my configuration:

I have a small LAN behind a WinGate firewall ( < 6 machines including the WinGate server).

I want to be able to connect securely from a remote laptop when I am travelling on business, and access any of the machines on the LAN (typically using something like VNC for remote operations). I will never need to go in the reverse direction, that is, I don't need to ever have the local machines access the remote laptop.

I need a VPN license for the WinGate machine and a client license for the laptop. That much is clear.

But do I also need a license for every box on the LAN that I wish to access from my laptop too?

Thanks!

[MattP]

Well, you've got the most important part, every installation of WinGate needs to have its own license.

So at the very least you'll need two single user licenses, one for the laptop, the other for the server.

Because you want to access machines behind the server you'll need a gateway license for the server.

Think of the gateway license as permitting access to machines behind the server, without the gateway license nothing is accessible.

WinGate licensing is based on concurrent connections, so you need enough licenses to cover the number of machines that will be accessed at any one time. Once a machine is not being accessed, its license becomes free for another connection to use. In this way you can often get away with using less license seats than actual computers.

So for you, I would suggest a 3 user gateway license, this will allow two machines behind the WinGate server to be visible to the VPN at any one time (please note that the WinGate server always holds one license seat for itself). Chances are you're not going to need to access more than two machines at once, and if you find that you are being denied you can always upgrade to a 6 user gateway license at a later date.

I hope this helps.

[chaeron]

Thanks Matt. That clears up all the confusion.

I'll start with a 3-user gateway and a single client license for the laptop.

Much appreciate the quick response.