Computers and Networks and VPN's, OH MY!

Every time I try something new with computers it's an adventure.

The clinic I work for has been limping along with dial-up. Not dial-up internet, though we *were* paying $26 a month for AOL . No, we have two clinics. 10 miles apart. We have to share a client database.

Over a Dial-up Networking/Remote Desktop connection. *AND*, AND! We don't even get full 56k dial up speeds when we dial from the remote clinic into the server. 33.6 if we're lucky. A lot of the time it's 24.4. Can we say sllllloooooowwww?

SO, when I came back to work to do the books, I noticed that whopping charge for AOL on the statements, and figured I'd look into DSL. It turns out that we can drop the dial-up line at Wendell, drop the AOL, and add DSL at each clinic, and have it be *cheaper* than having the third line and AOL.

So I presented my argument to the Doctor, and he said GO FOR IT! For those of you that don't know Dr. H, it can sometimes be a challenge to convince him that a new technology is worth it. He's a very good veterinarian, but not all that technologically, um, adventuresome, shall we say?

Then there's me. If there's a new gizmo or program or service, I want it. (my phone is also a palm pilot)

So I researched VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and connecting and all that jazz, and did it. It took a couple of days to figure out just exactly all the checkboxes, IP addresses, and I had to learn about ports, and router forwarding, and opening up ports and firewalls, PPTP, L2PT, IPSec, and all sorts of new things. My brain might explode from all the new information that it has absorbed in the last week.

BUT, once I got all the boxes checked, services enabled, and ports forwareded. IT WORKS!

Me, little 'ole me, with only a modicum of formal computer education, set up a server that can actually accept connections with the outside world. HA! Who says Windows is too hard?

And talk about slick. With our dial-in connection, it took around 5 minutes just to dial in, log in, and start Remote Desktop, not to mention even more time for the client management software to open, run, login, pull up a client, and enter information. Now, it is so smooth, you'd think you were sitting at the computer where the database resides. Sweet. One click and you're connected, another to start the software, and you're done. 2 minutes tops for the entire process. No more waiting!

I love computers. Everything about them is interesting and fun.

One of these days I should learn programming.