Newbie to Cisco VPN Router, please help

[jamesngobui]

I am totally brand-new to Cisco Small Business VPN Router, and I could not ask about this in Linksys forum so I have decided to come to this forum for help. I have been using Linksys (WAG Modem Router/ E2000 Router) product for a long time and I enjoyed the stability of the Cisco Linksys products. Anyways, here are my questions.

My parents are using 2 PC (Windows XP Pro SP3) at home (location A) and sometimes, I have to help them trouble-shoot problems with their PC.

My place (location B) is about 4-hour flight to my parents' house.

Short-term solution

1/ I plan to purchase RV220W or WRVS4400N and setup a VPN end-point at location A.

2/ I would use my laptop and/or PC from location B to connect to A via VPN sometimes to help them with the PC's problem.

Long-term solution

1/ Having either RV220W or WRV4400N at BOTH locations and establish a VPN Router to VPN Router

My current ISP spec at both location

1/ Dynamic IP Addresses

2/ I plan to use Dyndns as a pointer to location A

So, with the above criteria, do you think I could deploy the RV220W or WRVS4400N to be used with Dyndns service to establish a VPN connection? Do I have to have a Static IP Address in order to configure VPN?

Thank you very much for your kind helps/suggestion.

[abudef000 · Accepted solution]

Hi James,

To be able support your parents remotely you do not have to spend your money for Cisco SB routers. You can use some software solution – TeamViewer is for free for non-commercial use e. g. (http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx)

Anyway do not choose WRVS4400N or RVS4000 which has really very slow VPN (max. 1.6 Mbps) and doesn`t support AES encryption (3DES only)!

Beware of RV110W which doesn`t support site/to/site VPN (client-to-site only)! If you don`t need site-to-site VPN tunnel and 1 Gbps ports, this is the best solution (only $ 100).

WRV210 is a good choice when you don`t need firewall ACL control and IPv6 support (over 20 Mbps VPN, 10 client-to-site and 5 site-to-site clients), but new “Cisco” version restarts randomly (you can find posts about on this site). Try to find old “Linksys” version or WRV200 (same functions, even slightly faster VPN).

RV120W is a smart mix of power and features (VPN features, ACL firewall, IPv6 support), but has 100 Mbps ports only.

RV220W has got everything, but the price level is quite higher for SOHO router …

You do not need static IP address, you can use DynDNS.

Reviews:

RV220W:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31456-cisco-rv220w-wireless-network-security-firewall-reviewed

RV120W:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31393-cisco-rv-120w-wireless-n-vpn-firewall-reviewed

RV110W:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/31556-cisco-rv110w-wireless-n-vpn-firewall-reviewed

[jamesngobui]

Thank you for your very detailed info on the Router that I am looking for. A big thanks also for your recommendation of the type of Router.

I think I would go for the RV220W, however, I will hold back until the latest firmware is available.

Again thanks!

[dinnerbichler]

For remote support, you should also check out Mikogo at mikogo.com.  Very easy user interface and works very well.  It is also free.

[aprizalchia]

I need help in RV120W ...

Since u stated that dynamic IP can use, but i cannot setup the Dynamic DNS in the setup.. it always give

WAN (Internet) (DDNS Status: dyndns unable to resolve members.dyndns.org check your dns configuration)

Please help ....

[jamesngobui]

Aprizal,

I have not used Dyndns on RV120W but on Linksys E2000, it works just fine.

Perhaps you need to check your DynDNS account from the website, make sure your password and username are both correct?

Back to the Router, perhaps you may want to try a restart? (Unplug the device, wait for 2-3 min and plug it back)

Good luck.

[jamesngobui]

Thank Dave

In fact, I have been using Teamviewer, RDC and RealVNC do to remote connection for support.

However, I need more than just a remote desktop connection as we have a NAS and some other devices that need to be connected securely but remain simple and straight forward.