[kjjb0204]

Hello all. I have a network printer that I can normally print to just fine from any of my systems in my home office, but when I'm connected to my company's corporate network through VPN IPSEC connection, I can't print to my local network printer any more. I'm guessing my system is looking through the VPN tunnel for the printer, and obviously won't find it there, since it's on my home network.

Any suggestions on how to get my docked VPN system to look locally instead of through VPN for my local network printer? The printer is connected via cat5 to my router. All other systems can see and print.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[DoubleHelix]

When you're connected to another network via VPN, the computer can't "see" any other network. That means you won't be able to print to your local network printer when connected to another network via VPN. If you need to print, you'll need to use a local printer.

 

[kjjb0204]

crap. thanks for confirming. I'll have to go get a parallel cable and hook it up locally as well. Thanks

 

[DaveBurnett]

Split tunnelling is a concept that might help:-
a) If you are allowed to do it by you company as it IS a security risk.
b) If you can work out how to do it. I'm working on the same problem for a client.

 

[O111111O]

If you're using a Cisco or Nortel VPN client, your network administrators should be able to allow "LOCAL LAN ACCESS".

This is analogous to split tunneling only in the fact that it allows bi-directional traffic to the same subnet that your NIC is on.

 

[DaveBurnett]

Do you know how to do it where the local network is on a different subnet using a second NIC

 

[O111111O]

Hmm.

Well,

Don't know how many systems you have on your LAN, but here's one way you could accomplish some of this with two NIC's.

Take you default network that's created with most DSL routers and cut it up. (192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0) Keep everything cabled in same LAN, move all of the hosts that don't require VPN access to the "high side" of the network (192.168.1.128 - 254), and keep your VPN hosts on the "low side"

VPN host (please pay attention to netmasks)
Network 1:
DSL router / gateway 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0

NIC # 1 IP 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.240 def GW 192.168.1.1
NIC # 2 IP 192.168.1.129 255.255.255.128 <<< NO DEFAULT GATEWAY

Make your your printer and other hosts are > 192.168.1.128

Should work.

If you keep your other hosts and your printer above 192.168.1.128 your system below that subnet will use it's second NIC to talk to those hosts. This will mean that you can't use DHCP for all of your hosts - anything on the "low side" of the network will you will need to assign a static IP.