Cisco VPN connection over wireless router 1

[cdogg]

OS: WinXP
Connection: Cable broadband

I have a situation where a customer is using Cisco VPN over a Linksys wireless router (I don't have the exact model number yet). It connects fine when going over an ethernet connection. However, the wireless side does not. What's strange is that it connects without any errors using the VPN Client software, but all internet activity is lost (using IE or trying to ping fails). As soon as you disconnect, everything returns to normal.

It's got to be something on the wireless side of things.

What we've tried so far:
1) enable IPSec Passthrough on the router
2) tried disabling WEP encryption
3) firmware was last updated back in January

Has anyone seen this kind of problem?


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[TechnoBuz]

OS: Win2000
Connection: ASDL Linksys WAG54G Router

I have had the same proplem with my Cisco VPN client until I disabled transparent tunnelling on the client and it started working.

Haven't got to the bottem of it totally yet but at least it working now.

TechnoBuz

 

[Ru55ell]

You need to enable transparent tunneling on the client side as TechnoBuz did. However Transparent tunneling must be allowed by the other end of the tunnel. It was not clear or I read over it but can you browse the Internet over the wireless connection before establishing the tunnel? If you can surf before the tunnel is established and not after the trouble is certainly the VPN connection.

 

[TechnoBuz]

Following on from Ru55ell comments, cdogg do you successfully create a tunnel through the router and find that all other internet traffic is block on the client?

If this is the case and the 'Enable local LAN access' is selected on the Cisco client then your proplem is that the Administrator on the Cisco VPN gateway has disabled your client access to this feature. Both have to be selected to enable the client to use local network resourses.

If, on the other hand, you had the same problem as myself (an end user) where the Cisco client would connect but no VPN traffic would work successfully then it's a combination of the VPN Gateway and client setting against the router settings. The only way I can get mind to work behind the my router with asking for VPN gateway changes was to disble my the transparent tunnelling as other option aren't setup.

Hope this helps.

TechnoBuz

 

[Ru55ell]

In rereading your original post I realize you said your customer can connect the client when using copper but not wireless. Regardless of being able to surf after the connection is up you want to connect the tunnel using the wireless side. Is this correct? If so I can only suggest bridging the interfaces on the notebook but cannot offer much more than that as I am a copper person. Good luck and follow-up when all is said and done as we are interested in the outcome.

Thanks TechnoBuz as I know what I know but have trouble writing what I know if that makes any sense.

 

[cdogg]

Thank you both for replying.

First of all, let me clear things up a bit. The VPN connection works fine when "hard-wired" through ethernet. When on wireless, connectivity is fine UNTIL you connect over VPN. As soon as the connection is established, all TCP/IP routing is lost (cannot ping or connect to any websites). Killing the connection brings everything back.

In both of your first responses, TechnoBuz suggested to 'disable' transparent tunneling. Then in Ru55ell's post, it says to 'enable' it. Which is it? And does this setting only affect the wireless side which is clearly the only issue here?


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Ru55ell]

If your VPN client is working the way you like on the "hard-wired" side don't mess with Transparent Tunneling.

To further clear things up:

When you connect the wireless connection and “connect over VPN” are you using the same client, protocol, same destination host as you do on the “hard-wired” side?

On the wireless side, when connected over VPN does you VPN connection work? In other words can you work but can’t see the Internet once connected?

 

[cdogg]

1) "[blue]When you connect the wireless connection and “connect over VPN” are you using the same client, protocol, same destination host as you do on the “hard-wired” side?[/blue]"

Yep, that's right. There's nothing different about the way I'm connecting. It's just over wireless.

2) "[blue]On the wireless side, when connected over VPN does you VPN connection work? In other words can you work but can’t see the Internet once connected?[/blue]"

Our customers use their VPN connection to access certain websites internally on our network. In addition, they can sign in through Novell afterwards to gain access to network drives. Over wireless, they can't do either in addition to not being able to get to any website. However, the Cisco software shows that everything is fine and connected which is the strange part.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884