Creating a VPN Connection under XP

Client

The wizard's good, but where do you go to start the demented elf?

  1. Click Start, right–click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. Under Network Tasks, click 'Create a new connection'
  3. Click Next, and select 'Connect to the network at my workplace'
  4. Click Next
  5. Click 'Virtual Private Network connection'
  6. Click Next
  7. Enter a name for the connection
  8. Click Next
  9. Set "Do not dial the initial connection". I assume that you have internet access all the time.
  10. Click Next.
  11. Get the information to identify the VPN server for your corporate network from your IT department, and enter it.
  12. Click Next
  13. Click Finish

That takes care of the client!

Server

Nursing the server into life:

Delays Occur When Establishing PPTP Connection with a Connection Manager Administration Kit Profile

Virtual private networking clients

Checklist: Installing and configuring a PPTP server

VPN servers and firewall configuration

Maybe the router, your ISP, or firewall is stuffing you?

Search the web for PPTP ping.

You need to get hold of

Pptpclnt.exe and Pptpsrv.exe are tools that work in conjunction to verify that the required protocol and port for Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is being routed from a client to a server and vice-versa.

In order for a PPTP client to access a remote PPTP server, traffic passes through TCP port 1723.  Protocol type 47 must be supported, it's the GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) protocol.

This tool is not meant to test the functionality of a PPTP server or a PPTP client. It only tests the path between the two hosts.

Download them from Microsoft Technet

The experience...

Over a 64 kbps link, with a drive mapped. Forget it! The desktop freezes. Not good.