Question : SOHO VPN for Three Sites.  Will Linksys RV routers work?

Hello All:

I have 1 prior client that we linked his office and home using the Linksys SX? VPN routers and this link has been working flawlessly for about 15 months.  Peer-to-peer networks on both ends for the purpose of file sharing/access depending on where he is at the moment.  The link is over Brighthouse/Road runner broadband with dynamic IP's (that havn't changed either).
He recently commented how stable and simple this connection has been and is very happy.

Now to my new client and the question.  This client is opening a new office and wants access from home for a total of one primary site and two remote sites.  She currently has a single office with a peer-to-peer lan, 4 computers and 2 printers.  One computer is the main 'server' if you will that hosts the primary files for Quickbooks multi-user.  The new office and home office/access want to be able to 'tie in' via the VPN over broadband just like the example above.  Everything needs to appear to be one big happy :<) peer-to-peer network so the two other sites can also access the Quickbooks files.  Again, all of this is over Brighthouse/Road Runner broadband.  My plan was to equip the primary office with a Linksys RV082 and use RV042's from the remote sites.  Eventually her accountant might link with an additional RV042 and I might link for support with a RV042 as she is 50+ miles away.

I have browsed for a couple of hours here and then joined because some post(s) mentioned not being able to support multiple simultaneous VPN connections using a single IP from the ISP via Linksys VPN routers.

The maximum connections VPN to the primary office would be 4 (from remote sites).  I also understand the peer-to-peer limits of Windows XP (10 workstations) and this should not be a factor.

What limits if any will I have based on what my initial equipment plan is?

Any suggested links beyond Linksys (how to, background tech info, etc.) would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ed

Answer : SOHO VPN for Three Sites.  Will Linksys RV routers work?

This sounds like a great solution. The limitations on VPN tunnels are to the same endpoint, from the same endpoint, which is not what you are trying to do anyway.
The other limitation is that unless you create a "full mesh" VPN, home site won't talk to Site 2 and vice versa. But - that's easy enough to fix, just create a VPN tunnel from each site to the others, so 2 VPN's at each site
        A
       /  \
     B -- C

The other "gotchas" are IP addressing - you need a separate IP subnet for each remote site:
  A = 192.168.1.0
  B = 192.168.2.0
  C = 192.168.3.0
 

And Name resolution. Netbios broadcasts are "supposed" to be supported over the VPN tunnels, but I don't believe it for a second. LMHOSTS files can be your friend unless you want to setup WINS server (not very economical). I can post plenty of information on creating the LMHOSTS files if you need it.

Right here at EE is your best resource. We'll be glad to help walk you through anything.