Link various networks together directly
Link various networks together directly
The device is referred to as a router, or at its core, you require a bridge. A typical PC equipped with two network cards can also function as a bridge. A better inquiry would be whether it's permitted to perform this action. I’m not aware of any network administrator who’d be pleased to discover someone linking their home network to the office.
As crotach mentioned this would make you seem like you were inside the office. It could also be called a Tunnel. For storage access, using SSH/SFTP seems simpler and safer. Printers are unclear to me—I've noticed some offices set up printers to print from off-site, but I don't understand exactly how that works.
Our office is small with just a few staff members, so it doesn’t look like a large building. For security reasons, it wouldn’t be ideal if we used this setup. We were considering SFTP for remote file access and will explore printer options later. The existing cable connection works with IPSec, though we haven’t tried glass fiber yet because it’s not available yet. This could be a possibility. If you’re correct, we connect the network virtually to another one so users appear inside the office network.
Multiple Options: 1) VPN: You connect sites using a site-to-site VPN. This seems like a straightforward choice. Setup isn’t clear, but the main drawback is your cable connection—upload quality is likely poor, so data transfers from home to office could be slow, especially for large files. 2) Fiber: If available, you might install fiber between networks, especially if high speeds or long distances (over 100 meters) are needed. This option works best when bandwidth or range is critical. 3) Ethernet: Similar to fiber, but requires a repeater if the distance is 100 meters. Outdoor use demands proper grounding, which is why fiber sometimes wins despite not handling power. 4) Site-to-Site Wireless: Solutions exist with two transmitters placed on opposite buildings. Performance may lag behind wired connections, but installation is generally simple.
If the connections can be made physically, a router or firewall seems appropriate. This would let you control traffic between networks to just printers. A VPN isn’t necessary here since direct physical links exist—VPN is mainly for secure communication over less safe channels. However, if access needs to be restricted to specific individuals, a VPN could help by placing a VPN server between the office and home networks.