Cannot connect to windows server by name over vpn connection

sql-server-2008vpnwindows-server-2008

I have a rented dedicated windows server on a public ip that is acting as a SQL Server and VPN server. I need to connect to this server via computer name to get replication in place. I cannot use an ip address due to this issue:

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So, due to this, we are going the VPN route.

That is my primary issue:

After I am connected to this server's vpn, I can connect to SQL Server using the ip address but I cannot connect by the computer's name as you can see below…

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Right now, there is no hardware firewall on it since I had it removed to test this issue.

I am running Windows 2008 Enterprise Server as the VPN server.

I am not sure if the route print will help any from the workstation trying to connect but here is the info:

IPv4 Route Table

Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
10.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 10.0.0.1 10.0.0.2 21

10.0.0.2 255.255.255.255 On-link 10.0.0.2 276

Any other info needed?

Thanks for the help!

========= CLARIFICATION ON A FEW THINGS #1 =========

This is the server's info:

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This is the workstation that is trying to connect:

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I connect to the server via "Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Connect or Disconnect"

You can see here that I am connected:

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========= CLARIFICATION ON A FEW THINGS #2 =========

I've tried to connect directly to the Sql Server as I did above but with the computers name and I couldn't get to it.

Here I am trying to net view it from the workstation and it couldn't find it:

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Best Answer

Check your DNS. Your DNS requests are probably going to your ISP's DNS servers, which do not have a record for your server, rather than your internal DNS servers, which do. It's a fairly common problem with VPN connections, at least in my experience.

The specific resolutions depend on what type of VPN you're utilizing and the client you're accessing the VPN with, so if you need help resolving that, you should include that in your question, or start a new one. For a hacky workaround, try manually setting your connection's DNS server to your internal DNS servers, which is also a good way to verify your issue is cause by DNS requests going to the wrong name server.

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