Nortel VPN Contivity and DSL....Arghhhhhh 1

[bpatters69]

Hello Folks,

I will try to make a long story short. First of all I telecommute by using my PPoE DSL service. I am using the Nortel Contivity VPN Client to set up a secure tunnel to the corporate WAN. Equipment-wise, I have a Westell Wirespeed Modem which connects to a Homeportal 100W router.

Now for the problem. I can set up the connection fine but after 5, 10 or 15 minutes, I get disconnected. I have tried a number of different "fixes" such as using different routers. So far, I have tried the Netgear and Belkin and the result has been the same. I log in fine only to be disconnected. Another fix I have tried is the following command:

ping -t 87.32.112.32

As you know, the above command sets up a continuous Ping to the stated IP address which is a gateway router. This works pretty well until the router get tired of answering and starts timing out. The connection then drops.

I contacted 2Wire since the manufacture the 100W router and they said to change the DHCP setting from 1 to 24 hours. I still get disconnected. I have also contacted Nortel and they told me to change the Keepalive setting on the Nortel Client. Still no relief. I could embarass my company's helpdesk by saying that they took the corporate cop out by saying that "they do not support" home networks.......but I won't go there.

Anyone have any ideas? I know (or hope) I am one setting away in my 100W from overcoming this quandary.

Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[netmanrick]

What version of contivity client are you using?
What contivity box is on the far end?
Do you have keep alive enabled on your client?

Rick Harris
SC Dept of Motor Vehicles
Network Operations

 

[bpatters69]

Rick,

I am running version of the Nortel Client 4_65.18. I do not knw what I am connecting to on the other end. I can try to find out if that is critical. I have tried enabling keep alive but I still get dropped. Thx

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[1911man]

Bill,

I would look at the setup in your modem. If you've changed keepalives, and tried different routers, then that might be the next thing to check. I am not familiar with that model, but I know a firmware update works wonders for some models. Don't know that, that applies in your case but it could be worth a try.
Have you called your DSL provider to see if they can think of any settings in your modem? Most of the time their help desks aren't very helpful.
The vpn is using UDP port 500.

Oh and as far as the Corporate Cop out......don't want to go their either but........
Have you ever tried to support 900 remote users that go out and buy whatever they want and then call and expect you to get it working? Besides the fact they dont have any clue what they are doing..............
just a thought to ponder.

 

[bpatters69]

1911man,

I understand what you mean by supporting 900 users but don't you think a better response than "we don't support" home networks to be something like "these are the brands and models that have worked with the Nortel VPN". I did not mention it buy I work for a regional bell operating company and we sell telecommuting and its advantages to our customers. I guess what I am saying is if we push telecommuting on to our customers, don't you think we should make sure our employees are telecommuting?

Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[bpatters69]

After talking to the router manufacture's tech support, my VPN tech support at work and finally my ISP's tech support, I gave up and decided that I was caught in the ever popular, "its not us it XYZ....." What a surprise.

My solution was to break things down to the very basics. The K.I.S.S approach if you will. I took my work PC and directly connected to my Westell DSL modem. The drop continued so I knew that either the Nortel VPN client was corrupted or their was something in the set-up of my Westell Modem that needed to be changed. If I were a betting man, I would bet the there was something wrong with the Nortel Client as I had been able to use the described set up before without any problems.

Good thing there was no money on this bet.

I went into the "expert" mode of my Westell and the IPSec passthrough feature had been disabled! How could that happen? Westell released a firmware update in 11/03 which either reset the feature or "upgraded" the passthrough feature so it needed to be re-enabled after the upgrade.

Sometimes this computer stuff can really make you feel silly. Oh, well. Live and learn. K.I.S.S, K.I.S.S......

Is this thing plugged in?

Thanks for your help. Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[bpatters69]

TMan,

You were right. Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[bpatters69]

Sorry.

I meant 1911man vs Tman.

1911Man,

You were right. Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida