Connect VPN before Open RDP
0 vote
So we are using the "Connect if unable to ping/port scan" for an RDP connection so that the VPN is started automatically. Now for some of us, we work in an office that has a VPN firewall that automatically gives us access to those server resources without having to connect each individual machine to the VPN network. While the ping/port scan trick works pretty well to determine whether we actually need the VPN or not, there are some drawbacks. If I try to connect to a server that is actually not online, then the VPN will be started, even though it really isn't needed. I would like to see if it's possible to mitigate this. Ideally instead of checking ping/scan, calling a macro script that allows us to do some custom checking. Essentially, for our case, if I can determine the static IP of the current PC is within a known list, I know that they are physically connected to the firewall device. What I think would be the most practical solution is if I could "soft" enable the VPN connection in RDM via a powershell script that basically tells the VPN connection that it is enabled without actually running it, then RDM would know not to try to re-open it.
Any recommendations?
Hector
All Comments (3)
Hello,
I will move this topic in the Feature Request forum since we have no solution as you describe.
We were discussing a scenario just last week for our own lab and we felt that our VPN/Tunnel/Gateway stack can be used for two really different workflows: the first to hide assets behind a jump box, the second to ease access while being remote only. As you state, when in the office, we mostly have direct access to lower tier assets.
What we had thought is that we could offer a "Connect if..." option that would check if any network adapter or a SPECIFIC has an IP that matches with an IP/MASK. A custom script would be extremely flexible, but with more complexity.
Again, no promises ;) but we'll discuss this internally.
Maurice
Sounds pretty spot on to what I am looking for. Thanks for chiming in!
@Maurice,
Just checking to see how those internal discussion went and if anything was implemented. We're fixing to upgrade to the latest RDM version, so I will most likely be revisiting this topic in the near future to see if I can smooth over the VPN connectivity process.
HB