Creating a VPN Server on Windows will require enabling Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS). This service will not start unless you have at least two network connections. The purpose of RRAS is to pass packets between IP subnets. It basically turns your Windows workstation or server into a router. Normally, when you have only one network interface, any attempt to enable the service will fail.

To get around this requirement, a virtual network adapter can be installed. This software-based NIC is called Microsoft Loopback Adapter. To install the Loopback Adapter, you can follow the instructions below. This step-by-step, like all the others in this article, follow the wizards and consoles installed in Windows 2000. The wizards and tools on Windows XP Pro and Server 2003 are similar. The instructions below provide enough information to configure utilities on those operating systems with very little modification.

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When you first learn about ‘Remote Desktop‘ and ‘Remote Assistance‘, you might easily make it out that both services are the same. They allow you to remotely control a PC from any where, let it be on your local network or even over the Internet. Although there are some important differences that we need to check between these two services.

1] Remote Assistance uses Windows XP/2003 Terminal Services to share desktop and other resources between two PCs.

Terminal Services - It is a way of using RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), which allows users to connect to their Windows XP desktop or a dedicated server (Terminal Server) combining with VPN (Virtual Private Network) with the help of which users can connect to their office network remotely and work with their applications.

Virtual Private Network – Creates a secure connection between private networks.

In a *Remote Assistance Session* -

Both users must be present at their respective PCs and must agree to establish a connection.

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