File sharing not working over VPN

[Narked Diver]

Hi,

I've set up a mavericks server on my Mac mini and have activated file sharing and VPN

I've bound my MacBook as a client

When my MacBook is on the local network it can see the Mac mini and can access the shared folders

When I am on a remote network I can successfully connect to my VPN but the Mac mini does not appear as a share

Am I misunderstanding how this should work (ie the Mac mini will never appear as a share over the VPN)? Or is there a setting that I am missing somewhere?

The user I am using to connect to the VPN has access to all services (VPN, file sharing, etc)

 

[sevoneone]

Hi,

I've set up a mavericks server on my Mac mini and have activated file sharing and VPN

I've bound my MacBook as a client

When my MacBook is on the local network it can see the Mac mini and can access the shared folders

When I am on a remote network I can successfully connect to my VPN but the Mac mini does not appear as a share

Am I misunderstanding how this should work (ie the Mac mini will never appear as a share over the VPN)? Or is there a setting that I am missing somewhere?

The user I am using to connect to the VPN has access to all services (VPN, file sharing, etc)

It sounds like you're saying that you can't see the server in the Finder sidebar while connected to VPN? If so, the short answer is that is normal. mDNS (aka Bonjour) doesn't work across a VPN connection. You have to have a dedicated machine on each side of a VPN that repeats the broadcast packets from the opposite end of the tunnel.

You can still connect to your server over the vpn via IP address, or DNS name is configured. From the finder press Command-K, in the server address field enter afp://{IP Address Of Server} replace with the IP address of the server on the other end of the connection, or the DNS name. You should be able to connect as normal. You can make an alias of the share you access on your desktop once connected, then on future remote connections you won't have to type in the IP address.

 

[Narked Diver]

It sounds like you're saying that you can't see the server in the Finder sidebar while connected to VPN? If so, the short answer is that is normal. mDNS (aka Bonjour) doesn't work across a VPN connection. You have to have a dedicated machine on each side of a VPN that repeats the broadcast packets from the opposite end of the tunnel.

That is exactly the situation - the server is not appearing in the sidebar - thank you for the explanation as to why this isn't appearing.

You can still connect to your server over the vpn via IP address, or DNS name is configured. From the finder press Command-K, in the server address field enter afp://{IP Address Of Server} replace with the IP address of the server on the other end of the connection, or the DNS name. You should be able to connect as normal. You can make an alias of the share you access on your desktop once connected, then on future remote connections you won't have to type in the IP address.

Thanks for the solution - I will give that a go as soon as I get the chance

 

[Narked Diver]

Working fine now

Although it took me a little while to realise that I should be using the local ip address for my network and not the external IP address that identifies the VPN - doh