Tunnelling SMB over SSH

Hi,
The idea is interesting and it seems that somebody did manage it :-) However, there can be a good deal of windows stuff, making SMB-tunnelling a problematic one. I will give a try !!

Rgrds Tev

Hi Tev,
I was wondering whether you had any success with this?

I was not able to get copSSH to tunnel SMB. There is a commercial client by VanDyke that claims to work and I downloaded the eval version to try it out - and it does work.

Here are the instructions on how to configure the VanDyke client:

http://www.vandyke.com/support/tips/private_access.html

The crucial step is step 8, I couldn't figure out how to implement an equivalent step using the copSSH client. Any ideas?

Cheers,
VW

What I read from all those HOWTOs gives me an impression of that SMB tunnelling requires a special setup within Windows core functionality. True, it is possible. However, steps to make it work can be platform-dependent and need thorough testing. Unfortunately, I cannot give priority to this task at the moment.

Have you considered using IPSec instead ? Recent Windows platforms have built-in support for it. For simple file copy operations, WinSCP could be a good alternative.

Hi Tev,
I have considered IPSec, but IPSec can be problematic when hosts are behind routers running NAT, and while the issues can be resolved - it can be a hassle.

Using SSH on the other hand works well, NAT doesn't affect it. Having said that I think you're assessment of the situation is right - in fact I suspected half as much. The reason the commercial client works is that they have introduced some 'smarts' specifically to address the issue.

I appreciate you taking the time to investigate this. I'll look into IPSec further and I may just purchase a couple of client licenses, as the pricing is reasonable.

Thanks for your help.

VW