Question : Connect to exchange using FVS318 VPN Firewall

I have a user connecting to our network using Netgear Prosafe VPN Client on Vista and a FVS318 VPN Firewall. The internal network consists of a Windows Server 2003 SBS and 30 windows XP client computers. The VPN user can connect to the VPN and access the file shares on the server if they use it's IP address. However, they are not able to access anything that uses a netbios name. One of the main reasons that I set up the VPN was so that the user could connect to exchange using outlook. I have tried changing the name to the IP address in the email account settings but as soon as I try to connect, it changes back to the netbios name. I have also tried placing an entry in the host file for the server on the remote machine. The other odd thing is that I can ping all the client machines on the internal network but I am not able to connect to their shares even when I use the IP address. Has anyone ever encountered this and solved the problem?

Answer : Connect to exchange using FVS318 VPN Firewall

The problem sounds exactly like a DNS resolution problem.  The fact that you can PING means you have tcp/ip connectivity.  Check the settings on the ProSafe and don't allow split tunnels.  If you can figure out a way, force the firewall to give the remote client the SBS server's IP Address for DNS Resolution.  That may even be an option in the VPN Client configuration.  Test by not allowing Local LAN Access, that forces all traffic through the tunnel.  Check the client to see if there's a way to manually enter the SBS Box's IP Address in a DNS Server setting.

Secondarily, make your life easier:  use Microsoft's Routing and Remote Access Service on the server, forward tcp/1723 and GRE (if available) to the server's IP Address and setup a windows VPN connection from the Network Control Panel on the remote workstation.  I can provide some quick instructions for that (even if you just want to test) if you want.