Background
Because i have worked and lived in several locations and traveled a lot while working i have always had an ability to work remotely and access the software and data i needed at each location. In this page i have shown some of the equipment i use and how it is used. For security reasons i have not given too much detail so i do not attract the attention of malicious hackers. At its the peak this 'personal network'('personal Cloud') allowed me to work remotely from any location and access my Edinburgh base, Dublin Home, Dublin Office and my parents home in Edinburgh. Equally i could work from any of those locations and access any of the others. I was also able to allow clients to connect to my network and provide remote support to them or they could allow me to access their network and provide remote support.
I use two routers, one is a standalone router, the other a router with built in ADSL2 modem. The ADSL2 router also provides Wi-Fi for guests for whom i will provide a password.
The standalone router is a Linksys/Cisco RV042. The router ADSL2 router the well known Netgear DG834.
I have chosen two units from different manufacturers that do not use the same core, such as Linux to minimise the possibility of being hacked due to any vulnerability each may have. In order to get through the firewall the hackers would have to hack two different vulnerabilities on two units.
The Netgear DG834 provides Gateway to Gateway VPN- IPSEC connections to the other locations which have identical units and which have similar setups. This set up allows me to connect my various locations seemlessly and securely.
The Linksys/IPSEC RV042 provides VPN- PPTP connections. I can use these to remotely access my systems/network from a third party site or allow clients to access my network from where i can provide remote access to them. For example I have provided remote support to users in Spain who would connect to my network and then i could use VNC or Windows Remote Desktop to diagnose and cure problems on their PC's.
I also use the Linksys/Cisco QuickVPN function together with software on laptops to provide an alternative to PPTP when required.
Both the Netgear DG834 and Linksys/Cisco RV042 provide port forwarding to allow specific applications to be accessed. For example i have written software that runs on a server which is connected to an interface board that allows USB connected disk drives to be powered up and down as required which saves power and prolongs their operating life.
I have a Dynamic DNS accounts which i use to access my main system remotely from which i can then access other locations.
This picture shows the very early set up after i had switched from individual 12V power supplies to using a re-purposed ex-PC power supply.
I have had numerous problems with device power supplies failing over the years which i have described else where which was the reason for powering all devices from the ex-PC unit. Click here for more details of this project.
This picture shows the ex-PC power supply powering the Linksys/Cisco RV042, Netgear DG834, one of the USB Disk drives, and video sender/receiver units.
The white base of a NAS storage drive can also just be seen.
All of these devices can be switched on/off via remote control software and hardware which i designed and constructed a number of years ago.
This picture shows the Network storage unit and a USB disk drive below it.
The NAS was an early consumer/ small office device and is not particularly fast but has proven to be reliable. Over the years it has been reconfigure to provide two separate storage disks or two disks operating as a mirror system.
The NAS unit can be powered up and down via the remote control hardware/software i developed.
Update : November 2016.
In this picture a Linux(Ubuntu) laptop is being used to remotely access a Windows XP desktop at my Home/Office. In this example I am able to access downloaded email's and archive PST's on this PC.
I can also access data files and records as required.
The device used in this case happens to be a Linux laptop using the built in Terminal Server Client software to access the remote Windows PC. It could equally be a Windows PC or server.
Please note, i have blanked out any sensitive data.