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VPN Connectivity From Iraq And Kuwait?

Posted by timothy on from the time-sensitive dept.

direktorjb writes "I have an urgent need to connect about 6 users in Baghdad and another 6 in Kuwait to an AS400 app (5250 emulation) back in the states. Is anyone aware of a decent ISP in those regions? If I cant get a reliable ISP (and therefore a solid VPN connection), what are my other choices? Should I check out VSAT?"

7 of 32 comments (clear)

  1. Halliburton, EDS, etc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    The only people in Iraq with reliable communications are the Provisional Authority, US Army and contractors associated with both.

    Hook up with them somehow. You're going to have alot of problems running a VPN over satellite. The military is pre-empting transponders to control RAVs and such, so the link will not be reliable.

  2. VSAT will work by sigxcpu · · Score: 3, Informative

    however, a cheaper solution is a regular satalite ISP (where the return channel is by modem).
    With most European SAT ISP's will have coverage in most of the Middle Eaest. (I've worked with some from Israel)
    One problen with VSAT/SAT is that the link latancy and BER are mutch higher then for a land link. (which might or might not bother your app depending on what you do)

    --
    As of Postgres v6.2, time travel is no longer supported.
  3. What we're using by KrisJon · · Score: 5, Informative

    The military is using VSAT through an ISP called Segovia for all of our Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) internet cafes. Depending on the setup we're getting between 1 and 2 Mbs down and 128-256 kbs up.

    Service is fair. You'll see probably two to four outages per month that last anywhere from an hour to 12 hours. Ensure your site has some means of calling back to the states to troubleshoot the link. Expect to be on hold for a while if you call during EST business hours. You'll find out quickly which of the 10-12 "NOC Techicians" aren't just reading from a script. Normally, they just have to re-route your traffic to a different place in Europe. They're probably having major growing pains: We've got over 200 of these sites across Iraq and Kuwait.

  4. nanog etc by martin · · Score: 2, Informative

    and what the heck is wrong with asking on the proper channels like nanog, then getting hit by millions of sales droids???? :-)

  5. Very very very shameless plug... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Do you really need a VPN ?
    My company sells >flame-proof-suit<an expensive Windows-only 5250 terminal emulator >/flame-proof-suit< with built-in support for SSL.
    Install stunnel at the AS400 site.

  6. ack...answered the wrong question. by Michael+Spencer+Jr. · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...and then I realize, I answered a different question than you asked. Drat. All of that would be obvious if you had TCP/IP to begin with - that's the part you're missing.

    OK, if anyone else wants to provide a solution: all he really needs is TCP/IP. His 400 doesn't need anything special on top of that (since the advice I gave is probably obvious to him), so any ISP solution should work.

    And I apparently don't know how to read a question before answering. Yay. :)

  7. There used to be some... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Then there was that "awe and shock" thing.