Accessing files from outside the network

I am trying to access the files inside my Windows Server 2003 server from outside the physical network. How can I log into the server without actually having to be there? I believe you can remote desktop, but I can't figure out how to get it to work with a computer that isn't part of the network. Thanks in advance.

-jc

 

Does the server have internet access?

If not, could you install a modem on the server and do you have admin rights to set the server to allow inbound dial-in from a specific user account?

 

I do have internet access. All computers on the network are working fine as of now. I do have admin priveledges. I don't have a modem to install on the server.

 

You could set up a Microsoft VPN server. Then you have access to your LAN using your internet connection. With a working VPN server you can use remote desktop to access any PC in your LAN. Or you can map drives to shares on your LAN

 

I'd suggest not mapping drives over a VPN. Instead access remote folders using short cuts with the folder address in the form:

\\computername\sharename\

When a drive is mapped Windows tends to treat it like a local drive and will look ahead so it can cache information about the mapped drive in case you want to access it. For example, when you open Windows Explorer, the system will have a look at all the "drives ". If some of the drives are folders on the far side of a VPN connection, the system will be significantly slowed down while this look up is in progress (usually manifests as a long delay between Explorer opening and the files/folders being displayed).

The reason for this is that bandwidth available for most VPNs is very small. Especially those going over an ADSL link where the bandwidth is almost always only 256 kb/s (0.25% of a standard LAN network connection). On an ADSL to ADSL link the bottle neck is the upload speed on the side sending the data.

Also mapping a drive effectively creates a "keep alive" lookup where the remote fold is regularly check to make sure it is still there (even if it isn't being used).

So mapping a drive over a VPN will slow you PC and unnecessarily increase traffic over the VPN.

And I haven't even mentioned the problems regarding the map drives not being available when the VPN is down......

 

Dial up

Hi,
in my opinion dial up server is good

Regards