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3 Strategies for Implementing Peplink for Remote Work

We are in the midst of an unprecedented time in the history of our planet. The proliferation of COVID-19 is changing the way we communicate, socialize, work and live our everyday lives. Here at Frontier Computer Corp., we too are making decisions to protect the health and safety of our employees.

For those who are now working from home, we are making sure they have access to the information, tools and programs needed to continue serving our valued partners. We know the rest of the word is in the very same position. Employees who work from home need a reliable network structure to send and receive data needed to do their jobs.

“The ability to work from home and access data held locally at the office isn’t a new concept,” says Frontier technical support specialist Topher Lautner. “But this current situation we’re in is very unique. People who have never had reason to work from home before are now in a position where remote work is a reality for the foreseeable future. If they’ve never had to connect to a VPN or outside server before, they may need some extra guidance and assistance.”

Topher believes most organizations have the structure and technical skill in place to deliver remote access to employees, but employees may need a refresher on the process. He recommends organizations put together a fact sheet or step-by-step instructions for connecting to the company’s network along with the name and contact information of someone they can go to with questions.

If your enterprise or office network uses a Peplink SD-WAN router, Topher has three strategies for implementing Peplink with remote users.

Strategy 1: Client-based VPN

The first strategy is a client-based VPN to the router. “Peplink routers allow remote users to connect their PCs directly to the router using L2TP, PPTP and OpenVPN in order to access shared resources and personal files held locally and be productive when not physically in the office,” Topher explains. “These types of connections are handled by the Peplink router as long as the site is remotely accessible by IP address or by DNS service. This approach treats each remote user as if they are a local user.

Strategy 2: Port Forwarding

The second strategy is drop-in mode or port forwarding. Drop-in mode maintains the use of SD-WAN and SpeedFusion connectivity but also allows a firewall or other networking device on the inside of the Peplink router to use a public IP and handle remote users. If you already have a firewall in place when looking to add SD-WAN functionality drop-in mode, port forwarding and NAT mapping are all options that let the firewall on the inside of the router handle the client VPN connections. Often, these firewalls have tracking, monitoring and usage limits that can be required.

Strategy 3: Full Site-to-Site VPN Access

Finally, a third but less common strategy for remote users is full site-to-site VPN access. “In this case, rather than have a home user connect their laptop to the work network, they connect their entire home network. IPsec is the traditional site-to-site VPN, but Peplink has taken that a step further with its SpeedFusion technology,” says Topher. For remote users, the benefit that SpeedFusion brings most directly would be hot failover. Hot failover allows sessions to begin on one internet source, such as their cable modem, and fail over to another, maybe a company provided cellular plan, without interruption. This means calls, video conferencing and webinars can all go on as planned even if a primary WAN source is lost.

“We know a network structure that supports remote workers is vital for business to continue during this time,” Topher concludes. “Peplink and Frontier together have the knowledge, support and solutions to tackle that challenge. We encourage organizations and our partners to reach out and contact us if they have questions.”

Frontier Computer Corp. is the largest distributor of Peplink’s Unbreakable Connectivity products in North America. Contact us to find the perfect reseller for your needs.