Windows Remote Assistance / uPNP

[drjohn999]

I'd like to run Remote Assistance sessions from behind the Wingate firewall. It doesn't seem to work now, and I'd like to know if it's possible to get it to work.

For a test, I connect one PC to the internet through a uPNP-capable router/firewall device (dLink DI-640) and the other PC directly on a different (fixed) IP address with a uPNP-capable firewall (McAfee Total Protection for Small Business). I am able to open remote assistance sessions in either direction.

If I change the router/firewall from the dLink to the Wingate server (Win2k3 sp2) then I can chat thru MSN but cannot get a successful assistance session initiated.

I don't want to open a large range of ports in Wingate as has been suggested, nor do I want to put the Wingate server behind the dLink (its too slow and there is a lot of other traffic that comes in here; email, http, terminal server, etc etc).

The VPN isn't a good option either since the client machine being assisted will vary from time to time.

So, what about uPNP in Wingate? Any clues on how to make it work other than plugging in the dLink when needed?

Thanks,

John

[jamesc]

1.

So, what about uPNP in Wingate?

uPNP is not available in the current version, and it is not part of the initial plans for the next major version of WinGate. But your desired result has been noted by one of the Dev’s, and may be integrated at a later date.

*You could have one TCP Mapping that will remap depending on who the user is. This would be a bit cumbersome though, because you would need to pre-make the mappings, and probably also expose a service to the internet so you can authenticate to let WinGate know where to map to.


2.

The VPN isn't a good option either since the client machine being assisted will vary from time to time.

Well, with WinGate VPN, you can have a license for only 3 computers, but it can be any 3 computers at the same time on your LAN.

[adrien]

surely if you are providing the assistance you are connecting out?

In which case normal NAT should work?

Or is there something I'm missing about making the RDP connection - are you receiving incoming requests?

In which case, if these would all come in on the same port, you could manually do what the UPnP open port command does, and open a port in the ENS.

I've just finished reading the full UPnP spec... it's pretty heavy going. Not many good options to implement on 2k, but there is an SDK for in on XP.

Adrien

[drjohn999]

Thanks for your replies,

At the moment this is more of a minor inconvenience since I don't do this more than once a week. Great if you can put in uPNP in the future; I see your point about Win2K, but when will the time come to finally let the dinosaur go?

And, how about Vista? I don't know about you but I'm not planning any upgrades in the next 2 years or so. What are Qbik's plans in this area? The pressure is on, of course, as the big guys started to ship this week.

-- John