Windows File Sharing over VPN - doesn't work with Windows XP

[chrislitt]

I'm wondering if anyone can help with this one...

I've just set up a site-to-site VPN using two Cisco RV220W routers. Router A's IP is 192.168.1.1 router B's IP is 192.168.10.1.

The VPN seems to work fine. I can ping addresses on our remote office's subnet without any problem. So long as I disable the Windows firewall, file sharing using Windows 8 works too: I can access a shared folder on a remote machine running Windows 8 (IP address 192.161.10.111) from a machine in the 192.168.1.x subnet/office. I can also access shared folders on a Linksys NAS drive from either office without any problems.

The problem is we can't see contents of a shared folder on our Windows XP server (IP address 192.168.1.244) remotely. Sharing folders on this machine works fine within it's own 192.168.1.x subnet/office, but try looking at it from the 192.168.10.x subnet/office and we can't see any contents in the folder.

We can ping the machine, and even connect to the folder (using Map network drive), but it's just empty.

I've turned off the Windows XP firewall to no avail.

I spent an hour on the phone with Cisco support - very helpful btw! - which concluded it is a Windows XP issue.

Does anyone know if there's some obscure Windows XP folder permission/security setting I need to adjust to get this working?

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

 

[johnmurphy]

RV220W Routers

I have had some (bad) experience with connecting two RV180Ws.

I'd suggest turning off any VLANs, turning off the wireless on the RV220W, and only using one of the Lan ports to connect to a switch. Leave the other LAN ports empty.

The only way I've gotten the RV180Ws to work is to use a separate wireless access point and to connect all the LAN connections on a separate switch. The computers on my networks use a mix of XP, WIN7, WIN8, IOS, and NASLITE M2. I don't think it is a XP problem.

This configuration has minimized the problems I have had with AirPrint, Remote Desktop, Mapped Drives, and remote printing. If I did not need VPN for remote backup and remote desktop, I would have selected another router.

 

[chrislitt]

Hi John, thanks for advice... doesn't sound promising.

Actually, our WinXP machine is plugged into the RV220W via a switch and the wireless is off on that one. So it's already set up as you suggest there.

On the other side the Win8 machine is plugged into an RV220W (again via a switch) which has wireless turned on. But sharing from that machine IS working.

Any other ideas?

I'm about to go out and buy the identical Win8 machine to replace the WinXP one just so the whole setup is symmetrical, but feels a bit like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.

C

 

[extensi0n]

Solved?

Late to the game, shooting in the dark, but could it be an encryption setting in the newer windows boxes?

Not that long ago setting up a new windows 7 PC in a LAN peer to peer environment, I had to lower network encryption of a Windows 7 box to I want to say 56 bit or 40 bit, from 128 bit, because the windows xp box doesn't support 128 bit encryption on sharing files, so they just DO NOT play nice together...

I guess the VPN adds another layer of fun, but...