Help with remote access

I have no networking experience and am a bit lost with this....

We have a small netwrok of computers in the office all running windows 7 home premium and a file pc running xp pro.

I want to set up either remote access to the server or one of the pcs or a vpn for access to files on the server.

i have tried log me in hamatchi service but we deal with a lot of mp3 and video files and when i try to play them over the hamatchi service they are very slow and keep stopping.

our office connection is ping 33ms download 11.75 mbps upload of .97 mbps.

the connection i have at home with bt is fibre optic and runs at about 30 mbps download.

where should i start looking to improve this or is there someone based in london that may be able to come and offer advice and help setting up.

thanks

colin

Would it be easier to store them "in the cloud" using a service such as dropbox? I've never used it myself, but if you just need periodic access to the file you might be able to do something similar? If you're wanting to setup a site-to-site vpn connection, and have no networking experience, you'd be better served by hiring someone to deal with the headache for you. It's not terribly difficult, but you'll waste a ton of time learning how to do it; unless you're into that thing.

Ok, the reason the files are playing slowly is that your connection upload is about a meg. That number means how fast you can send data from your computer. You should look at increasing this to match your download speeds, they call that a symmetrical connection. Typically this only done for corporate accounts and they charge an arm and a leg for the privilege.

What kind of router do you have? AKA what is plugged into the internet first? That device would need to have VPN capabilities for you to setup a VPN. Most business level devices come with this feature, and most home routers do not. Once you configue it on your router, you will need to configure it on your pc, and then once connected you can share files just like you were at work.

Like the post above says, you need a router (your device connecting to the ISP at work) that supports terminating VPN connections, along with VPN software on each of the remote clients.

What kind of router do you have? Do you have a budget to purchase something else?

The comment about upload speed on your ISP (work) connection is spot on, too. That link is going to get bogged down fast when streaming music and videos.