Managing Remote Access

Updated: July 22, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard

Remote Web Workplace

Windows SBS 2008 Remote Web Workplace enables users to access network features, regardless of whether the users are onsite or away from the office. By using Remote Web Workplace, users can check e-mail and calendars, connect to a computer at work, and connect to the company's internal Web site. With the appropriate permissions, users can also perform certain administrative tasks.

Users can access Remote Web Workplace by using a Web browser on any Internet-enabled computer (such as a home or laptop computer) and navigating to the external address of the computer that is running Windows SBS 2008. This external address can be a URL (for example, https://remote.contoso.com) or the external IP address of your network.

For information about setting up Remote Web Workplace on Windows SBS 2008, see “Managing Windows Small Business Server 2008 Remote Web Workplace” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131600).

Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network (VPN) is a remote connection to an organization's server through the Internet. A VPN extends a private network, so users can access network resources from a remote computer as if the users were in the office.

Important

It is recommended that you set up a VPN only if Remote Web Workplace does not meet the needs of your organization. Although Remote Web Workplace provides remote access to several network resources, some line-of-business applications require that the computer is connected to the network. For these scenarios, you can use a VPN.

A VPN is not enabled during the Windows SBS 2008 installation. Before you can enable a VPN, you must set up your Internet address in the Getting Started Tasks.

Windows SBS 2008 does not configure dial-up modem connections. Users must have a broadband Internet connection to use a VPN connection to access the server.