LabVIEW
Virtual Private Network
Of course it is! 🙂
VPN is handled entirely outside LabVIEW, either by VPN software or by VPN hardware outside the PC.
To LabVIEW, it's just plain TCP/IP. In my situation, I have VPN capable network appliances at work and at home (A ZyWALL 70 at work and a ZyWALL 35 at home), both do NAT and protect a private network (work 192.168.1.x, home 192.168.0.x). From home, I can contact any private work IP and vice versa, the VPN hardware establishes and maintains the VPN tunnel between the two private networks and automatically pushes private traffic through the tunnel while handing all regular destination the old fashioned way. If I am traveling, I used VPN software (SSH sentinel). Again,the software will recognize if I try to contact a private home or work IP address and will automatically establish a tunnel with the correct zywall. (However, I am now using a Zywall P1 for this. No software install and configuration needed anymore :).)
I have no experience with VPN directly between to PCs. What exactly are you trying to do?
Over the years I have tried many diferent combinations and configurations of VPN.
The first problem, you have hinted at... Safety. - Do a risk analysis, if you can't do one or don't understand the risks - don't do it (by that I mean remote access).
The next problem is speed and latency - That can be overhead from supporting a VPN tunnel, to trying to run it over too 'thin' a connection.
Finally security - Obvious issues (hopefully) - do you really have to do it, is there no other way to perform the required functions - dedicated link.
My best effort to date has been with ADSL/DSL 128Kb/s Cisco PIX 500 firewalls (I don't like Cisco, you have to be 'in thier club to play' - but its fairly solid) to support the VPN and VNC to interact with the system.
The above configuration was fairly solid as it was all off the shelf stuff, definately steer clear of WiFi router stuff (probably WiFi as well) especially Cisco's sister products the Linksys stuff. That might make me unpopular but in my experience if you don't clear the log files every 10 minutes it locks totally, WiFi locks ........ (despite constant updates and so on) and so on.
Microsoft VPN stuff has worked but in the past but it has and could lock the machine running VPN totally bit annoying if you have to drive 50 miles to solve the problem, perhaps it's better now
The first problem, you have hinted at... Safety. - Do a risk analysis, if you can't do one or don't understand the risks - don't do it (by that I mean remote access).
The next problem is speed and latency - That can be overhead from supporting a VPN tunnel, to trying to run it over too 'thin' a connection.
Finally security - Obvious issues (hopefully) - do you really have to do it, is there no other way to perform the required functions - dedicated link.
My best effort to date has been with ADSL/DSL 128Kb/s Cisco PIX 500 firewalls (I don't like Cisco, you have to be 'in thier club to play' - but its fairly solid) to support the VPN and VNC to interact with the system.
The above configuration was fairly solid as it was all off the shelf stuff, definately steer clear of WiFi router stuff (probably WiFi as well) especially Cisco's sister products the Linksys stuff. That might make me unpopular but in my experience if you don't clear the log files every 10 minutes it locks totally, WiFi locks ........ (despite constant updates and so on) and so on.
Microsoft VPN stuff has worked but in the past but it has and could lock the machine running VPN totally bit annoying if you have to drive 50 miles to solve the problem, perhaps it's better now
