Work tips to save you when you left your important data
Sharing files with remote PCs using IPv6
You have worked hard on your presentation material and you forget to bring it to your office. The kind of mistakes we all make. But Vista and IPv6 may be able to save you from these mistakes.
It's a common use of networking to share files over network with PCs and LAN. You might have thought once, "It would be handy if I could have done that over the Internet". In fact, various communications services connect remote business sites over VPNs. But for individual users, that involves many troubles, so it has not been something anyone can do.
But with Vista and IPv6, you can easily and safely share files over the Internet. This way, you can take out your important files from your home PC, anywhere and anytime.
The process is not complicated. To put it simply, you will set up IPv6 connectivity, conduct DNS setting, configure file sharing, and configure firewall and IPsec.
Get IPv6 ready first
Of course, you need IPv6 environment. This article assumes that you can use IPv6 both at home and in your office.
Next, you set up your DNS. There is no way you can use IPv6 without name resolution mechanism like DNS. But it's too hard for ordinary users to set up a DNS server supporting IPv6 on their own. That also deviates from the easy and simple techniques this article is trying to illustrate.
But then there are much simpler solutions to this problem. One is to register IP addresses in the hosts file of your office PC. You can find the hosts file at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Open the file with a text editor to modify it. This is the simplest way, but you have to modify the entry manually every time the IPv6 address of your home PC changes.
The other method is to register your PC with DNS server available for use. There are several dynamic DNS services with IPv6 support. If you use OCN IPv6 service from NTT Communications, it would be handy to use OCN IPv6 Mobile (http://ocnipv6.jp/), an experimental service offered for free.
Actual work involves registering the host name and IPv6 address assigned to your Vista PC, at the configuration server for OCN IPv6 Mobile (http://ocnipv6.jp/). To know the IPv6 address, type the following at command prompt:
Then you many feel lost, because you see so many IPv6 addresses displayed and don't know which is the actual address for you to use. The answer is the IPv6 address under Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection, shown next to specific DNS suffix. Other addresses are automatically assigned by Vista, which can change every time your machine boots up or can be effective only in local area.
It would be best if you confirm that the IPv6 prefix is the same as the one assigned to you when you subscribed OCN IPv6 service.
Setting of home PC
Then, you enable file sharing of the folder you have files to share, on your home PC. Right-click the folder to share, and then choose Share and Done (if UAC is displayed, choose continue).
Firewall setting
You have completed file sharing setting, but it's dangerous to access the PC from outside unless you add protection with firewall. So we configure firewall to allow access from specific hosts only. In addition, we set up IPsec to protect communicated data. Check the IPv6 prefix at your office beforehand.
Start with Control Panel - Classic Display - Administrative Tools - Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, and choose incoming packet filtering rule at left pane (if UAC is displayed, choose continue).
Then, choose File and Printer Sharing (inbound SMB) in Private Profile at right pane and double-click.
You see a Properties window. At this window, confirm that Enable is checked on General tab, and choose "Allow only secure connection".
Next, you allow access from your office only, by choosing Add for remote IP address at Scope, and enter the address of your Vista host at office or prefix of your office, and choose OK, and choose OK again.
IPsec setting to protect communication
Above setting enables you to make access, but you need encryption for safe data communication. Vista can utilize IPv6 IPsec by default. So, let's make IPsec configuration. Important point to note is that we use pre-shared key for IPsec encryption. You can't conduct communication if you forget the key.
You need to conduct the following settings both on your home PC and your office PC.
1. Follow Start - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
2. Open Connection Security Rules on the left pane.
3. Choose New Rule at the right pane to start new Connection Security Rules wizard.
4. Confirm that Isolation is selected in Rule Type and go Next.
5. Select Require Authentication for Incoming and Outgoing Connections and go Next.
6. Check Customized Advanced Method and click Customize.
7. At Customize for Authentication Method, click add first authentication.
8. At first authentication method, choose pre-shared key and enter characters you like, then click OK. The pre-shared key you entered has to be the same for your home PC and office PC.
9. At customized Advanced Method, click OK.
10. At Authentication Method, go Next.
11. Confirm that Domain, Private and Public profiles are selected and go Next.
12. Enter an appropriate name and click Finish.
This completes IPsec setting and all network settings. Let's see if we can actually make access.
Access from office PC to home
Office PC needs IPv6 communication environment. As long as you have IPv6 environment set up, what you do is almost the same as accessing files on PCs on your local network.
Open My Computer and click on the blank space and enter the host name of the home PC registered to OCN IPv6 Mobile DNS.
Then you are requested for home PC account and password. Enter these and you see the folder you configured for sharing at your home PC.
What to do if you fail
First, see if you can actually connect outside with IPv6. Use OCN IPv6 connectivity check site (http://www.ocnipv6.jp) or www.kame.net (http://www.kame.net/). If you succeed, then check IPsec setting.
At either PC, open Windows firewall, and follow left pain - monitoring - security association - quick mode. If you see communicating Vista PC address on the right pane, your IPsec communication is enabled.
If this is information is not displayed, check firewall setting. If it has no problem, check if pre-shared key information is correct.
