Connect your VPN and access the remote device seamlessly.
Connect your VPN and access the remote device seamlessly.
The request involves finding a method to access a remote Windows machine via RDP when the VPN is active. The current configuration uses a Microsoft Azure VM linked to a Meraki VPN through built-in Windows protocols. Once the VPN is disconnected, RDP access disappears unless the client PC connects to the same network. A possible solution was installing Google Chrome Remote Desktop on the VM for consistent remote access. You're considering a RDP gateway, but this area is unclear. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Yeah I realise this, however is there a workaround, for example using an RDP gateway?
The configuration seems accurate. You have an Azure VM set up with Meraki client VPN settings. You can control whether the VPN connection is active or inactive on that VM. When disabled, you can connect via RDP; when enabled, RDP access is blocked. Exposing RDP directly to the Internet on that VM is risky. Likely the issue arises because the VPN is routing all traffic to the Meraki network, and that network isn't forwarding it to your local network or the location where you're trying to connect. The solution depends on your VPN purpose—if it's for accessing internal Meraki resources, consider split tunneling. This way, only necessary traffic goes through the VPN while the rest functions normally, restoring RDP access.
The setup is easier when connecting to the VM via RDP, which is why I prefer it. Earlier, my employer used a gateway server configuration, so to access a local machine inside the company you simply added the gateway IP into the RDP connection on the client computer. But the licensing fees were high, so I started searching for alternatives.