What is the best way to set up Lotus Notes for remote users - do I
have to use VPN (PPTP) or is there a way I can use SSL and not have to
configure VPN servers?

Hello jcb,

Thanks for using GA. 

I've found many options of accessing Lotus Notes remotely. Out of the
available options, what I've found is that access via internet seems
to be more popular with least price involvement. VPN and Remote Access
Service are also one of the other options.

Check this page ( http://www.charlton.com/services/remote_access.html
) to find out the available methods for remote access. According to
them, they can setup the remote access for Lotus applications as given
here ( http://www.charlton.com/services/lotus_notes.html ). Here is
the page where they have given the contact details
http://www.charlton.com/contact.html

A question similar to yours, was posted on a Google group. Check this
link to find out different answers given for that question
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&threadm=FheD6.52577%24R37.766703%40monolith.news.easynet.net&rnum=3&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522Remote%2BAccess%2522%2Bfor%2BLotus%2BNotes%2BClients%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26selm%3DFheD6.52577%2524R37.766703%2540monolith.news.easynet.net%26rnum%3D3

About access using Internet, check e-Gap Webmail Appliance for Lotus
Domino
http://www.whalecommunications.com/webmail/index.html?g=dom

A very similar case of VPN with other suggestions is given here
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=how+to+setup+%22Remote+Access%22+for+Lotus+Notes+Clients&hl=en&lr=&selm=%25RiT3.397%243p5.19117%40reader1.interactive.net&rnum=4

Alternatives of using Notes remotely
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&threadm=3617edb8.472891%40nntp.ix.netcom.com&rnum=6&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522Remote%2BAccess%2522%2Bfor%2BLotus%2BNotes%2BClients%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26selm%3D3617edb8.472891%2540nntp.ix.netcom.com%26rnum%3D6

Here is some info related to dialup server setup on Notes server
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22Remote+Access%22+for+Lotus+Notes+Clients&hl=en&lr=&selm=39mt8h%246d2%40www.interramp.com&rnum=8

Some issues with the internet connectivity are discussed here
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=how+to+setup+%22Remote+Access%22+for+Lotus+Notes+Clients&hl=en&lr=&selm=01bd0a30%24c3c4bb40%24375bd126%40omnex05.omnex.com&rnum=1

One more issue with dial up connectivity
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=how+to+setup+%22Remote+Access%22+for+Lotus+Notes+Clients&hl=en&lr=&selm=3218AC59.202B%40autozone.com&rnum=10

I found the Google group, give below in Search terms, to be a great
source of information for this question. Check that one too.

Search terms

Google Groups:
"Remote Access" for Lotus Notes Clients:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22Remote+Access%22+for+Lotus+Notes+Clients&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=

In Google:
how to remotely Access to Lotus Notes:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=how+to+remotely+Access+to+Lotus+Notes

I hope this answers your question. 
Feel free to ask for any clarifications and if you feel that I've
answered your question, please rate it.

Regards
netcrazy

Great answer, with lots of links to online resources for more info.

thanks!

There are two ways most large companies address remote access for
Lotus Notes, in my experience.  First, a VPN works well for using the
Lotus Notes Client software itself.  While I believe that there is a
method for encrypting Notes' communication, the only way you'd want to
use the actual Notes client remotely is over a broadband connection,
ergo, VPN solutions make the most sense.

The other method is to use the Domino Web Server over SSL.  This
allows for secure communication, and is very lightweight (works very
well over narrowband connections).

Finally, another option for narrowband access to Notes while using a
VPN is a terminal services client, such as Citrix.  If you're looking
for one solution across the board, VPN would be my recommendation,
with direct access for broadband and terminal access for narrowband.

Hope this helps!

We have used both vpn and ssl as soren-ga describes. SSL does not have
full functionality but is faster and thus better suited for low
bandwidth access.

We use Cisco VPN via PIX and it works excellently well!