Lan Traffic Won't Pass VPN Tunnel

who · 01-04-2007, 10:36 AM

I recently bought a new laptop, my first that has wireless access. I use it at home and occasionally access the system in the office via VPN. It runs on Windows XP.

What is strange about the laptop is that the Symantec VPN client only works in dialup and wireless mode, not in Lan mode where connection is through ethernet cable.

When in Lan mode, the VPN client would launch successfully, bringing up a tunnel to the office, but the application software cannot find the servers in the office (thus timeout). No such problem in dialup or wireless.

There are 2 more computers on the home network, one of them is also running XP. Both of them have no problem with VPN on Lan. Lan can be on the wireless router or on a Lan-only router, makes no difference.

Could this be due to some network priority in XP?

**johnwill** · 01-04-2007, 11:08 AM

What happens if you disable the wireless network so that it's not visible to the VPN?

who · 01-04-2007, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwill

What happens if you disable the wireless network so that it's not visible to the VPN?

Haven't tried that yet. But I did try disabling the 1394 Network but that made no difference. There seems to be more than one way to disable a network, any suggestion how I should do that?

**johnwill** · 01-04-2007, 05:54 PM

Right click on the network in Network Connections and select Disable.

who · 01-04-2007, 06:58 PM

Disabling the wireless network has no effect on VPN via Lan. It is still timing out.

However if VPN is brought up on wireless network first, then when switched to Lan it finds the tunnel, i.e. the following sequence works:
disable Lan, connect wireless network, bring up VPN, launch application, stop application, bring down VPN, disconnect from wireless, disable wireless, enable Lan, bring up VPN, launch application.

The wireless network seems to leave "clues" as to how to find the VPN tunnel.

who · 01-05-2007, 03:30 AM

I should add that when bringing down VPN, the client software must not be closed, only the tunnel be brought down, in order for the tunnel to be brought up in Lan mode. Otherwise the application would not find the tunnel in Lan mode.

01-04-2007, 10:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
who Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Lan Traffic Won't Pass VPN Tunnel I recently bought a new laptop, my first that has wireless access. I use it at home and occasionally access the system in the office via VPN. It runs on Windows XP. What is strange about the laptop is that the Symantec VPN client only works in dialup and wireless mode, not in Lan mode where connection is through ethernet cable. When in Lan mode, the VPN client would launch successfully, bringing up a tunnel to the office, but the application software cannot find the servers in the office (thus timeout). No such problem in dialup or wireless. There are 2 more computers on the home network, one of them is also running XP. Both of them have no problem with VPN on Lan. Lan can be on the wireless router or on a Lan-only router, makes no difference. Could this be due to some network priority in XP?

01-04-2007, 11:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,940 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	What happens if you disable the wireless network so that it's not visible to the VPN? __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

01-04-2007, 05:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,940 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Right click on the network in Network Connections and select Disable. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

01-04-2007, 06:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
who Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Disabling the wireless network has no effect on VPN via Lan. It is still timing out. However if VPN is brought up on wireless network first, then when switched to Lan it finds the tunnel, i.e. the following sequence works: disable Lan, connect wireless network, bring up VPN, launch application, stop application, bring down VPN, disconnect from wireless, disable wireless, enable Lan, bring up VPN, launch application. The wireless network seems to leave "clues" as to how to find the VPN tunnel.

01-05-2007, 03:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
who Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 5 OS: XP	I should add that when bringing down VPN, the client software must not be closed, only the tunnel be brought down, in order for the tunnel to be brought up in Lan mode. Otherwise the application would not find the tunnel in Lan mode.