[pptp-server] a future poptop?

[Matthew Ramsay]

As some of you already know, PoPToP was originally written for Moreton Bay's
VPN linux router (which runs on a linux coldfire platform)
http://www.moreton.com.au/mbweb/product/nettel/nettel.htm
(slipped the link in shamelessly :-)

Anyways, one of my original goals was to make PoPToP a client as well as a
server so as to do fancy things like PoPToP to PoPToP blowfish encryption.. the
reason behind this thinking was that PoPToP would be running on the NETtel and
we could control both the client and the server end (assuming 2 nettels).
BUT since the main goal was windows compatibility I never implemented this as it
would break the protocol..

I've been thinking about this again recently and was wondering if anyone else
would be interested in this kind of development. I seem to recall a "vpnd" for
linux that may do just this.. I'm not sure?

I was wondering if there would be a point to grabbing the existing PPTP
client and adding in say blowfish encryption (?) and maybe some authentication
stuff and then adding support in PoPToP (obviously in such a way as not to
break the windows client support -- still thinking about that)..

am I wasting my time?

My ultimate goal would be to put this on our NETtel boards to do NETtel to
NETtel blowfish VPNs and not have any extra costs for RC4 code.

Another idea I was looking into developing (again for our NETtel boards.. and
hopefully finding use in the linux community) was a VPN directory service:

Say you have a small office that connects to the Net each morning at 8am and
disconnects at 5pm.. You get your ip address via dhcp from the isp.. and hence
every morning your ip changes.. now say you have a salesman on the road who
wants to VPN (with poptop of course :-).. instead of having to ring up the
office to find the IP address a VPN directory service online tells him what
it is and connects him transparently.

that's another thing i'll be looking into hacking together.. unless someone has
a better solution?

Anyways.. I guess this email is more for letting everyone know my thoughts and
directions on future PoPToP and related developments.

Cheers,
Matt.