Connecting over VPN

jamesshaw · Post by **jamesshaw** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:33 am

I work at home, and connect to my company network via VPN to get email, etc. I just got the latest client and installed it this morning.

My company's IS dept is well known for locking down our network, so it was no surprise that I couldnt connect with your client when the VPN was connected. If I disconnect VPN everything in your client works perfectly, but I'd like to have both running if possible.

So, before I call my IS dept, what ports are you using, and what else will they need to know? They may not allow it, but I'd like the info before I call.

Thanks.

sterwill · Post by **sterwill** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:42 am

Vault connects to its server using the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. If you regularly specify a special port during login in the Vault client, that is the only port the client uses. The default HTTP port is 80, HTTPS is 443. If you can visit the Vault server with a web browser (http://vaultserver.domain.com/VaultServ ... rvice.asmx -- also try https://vaultserver.domain.com/VaultSer ... rvice.asmx), the Vault client should be able to connect.

jamesshaw · Post by **jamesshaw** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:56 am

thanks! I can certainly access http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/vaultservice/vaultservice.asmx from my browser when VPN is connected (I see a list of methods that i can call), but your client reports:

Unable to connect to http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/VaultService. No server was found at the specified URL. Please verify your network settings using the Options dialog under the Tools menu in the Vault GUI Client. Web Exception: The underlying connection was closed: Unable to connect to the remote server.

sterwill · Post by **sterwill** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 2:55 pm

When your VPN is enabled, Windows may automatically set an automatic proxy for IE. It turns out that .NET applications (including Vault) aren't allowed to detect automatic proxy settings, and would continue to try to directly connect to the server (which may not be allowed by your network configuration). You can check Internet Explorer's options while connected to the VPN to see if you're using an automatic proxy.

If you are, you can duplicate the proxy settings (host, port, user, password) in the Vault options dialog.

Don Thimsen · Post by **Don Thimsen** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:11 am

Just curious, but after the VPN connection has been established, what IP address are you trying to use to access the Vault server? When VPN is down, you are using a public IP address. After establishing a VPN tunnel, you should be using an private (LAN) address for the server. For example, when my VPN tunnel is up, I have to use 192.168.1.xxx to access the vault server through the tunnel.

Don

jamesshaw · Post by **jamesshaw** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:25 pm

I'm out of my depth here, but doesn't the IP address remains the same if it is outside of my company network? It's hosted by a third party..

sterwill · Post by **sterwill** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:55 pm

If the server is hosted by a third party (not inside your corporate network), the IP you use to contact it should remain the same. Have you checked for the presence of a proxy while connected through the VPN? It's common that companies require the use of a proxy on their internal networks, and a VPN places you on the internal network.

jamesshaw · Post by **jamesshaw** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:13 pm

I'm on VPN right now, but I can't see any proxy settings. But am I looking in the right place? I've looked in IE/Tools/Options/Connections (which shows no dialup/VPN settings) and the LAN settings button on that page has an unchecked proxy setting. "Automatically detect settings" is checked, that's all.

jamesshaw · Post by **jamesshaw** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:18 pm

I don't know if it is relevant or not, but the VPN client I have to use is branded with my company name, although it does have a Cisco (c). The version is 4.0.2 (B)

The only other part that may be relevant in the VPN client status page is:

Encryption: 168-bit 3DES
Authentication: HMAC-MD5
Transparent tunneling: Active on UDP Port 44444
Local LAN: disabled