concern with vpn

[fressanme]

im kind of a noob in networking even though we had this subject taken up just last semester since our teacher during that time was @!#*&!.. :D anyway,i have these questions regarding vpn.

1. once installed, does a vpn need maintenance from time to time?
2. should it be disconnected after each transaction?

so far, these are the only questions i have..im currently reading about vpn now..and also,if anybody has a comrpehensive list of steps in installing a vpn,could you share one to me?thank you! :D

[Banfa]

My experience of VPNs is limited to asking other people to set them up, but I have been doing this a lot recently.

So generally speaking a VPN once set up should require very little if any maintenance. Does it need to be disconnected, probably not, if it is idle it should disconnect itself and then re-establish the connection automatically if it is required at a later date.

However these are generalisations, there are any number of different flavour of VPNs using various standards.

Take IPsec for instance. This is a well known VPN standard. Unfortunately though this standard is so complex that 2 different implementations of the same standard are unlikely to work together because the subtle complexities are open to interpretation. Generally speaking when using IPsec (and that is mainly what I have experience with) I tend to advise that people only use equipment from the same manufacturer or from manufacturers that claim compatibility with each other.

I am afraid I can not help you with a definitive set up guide.

[RevBooter]

i setup quite a lot of vpns in work! what kind of vpns are taking about here? the windows vpn? a firewall specific vpn?

[fressanme]

i setup quite a lot of vpns in work! what kind of vpns are taking about here? the windows vpn? a firewall specific vpn?

im getting the hang of it now..i guess all that's left for me to fix is the "Network Cable Unplugged" error im having..do you have any idea how to fix this?thanks!!

[RevBooter]

im assuming the network cable is physically plugged in?:)

[fressanme]

im assuming the network cable is physically plugged in?:)

yes, it is..ive tried reconnecting it physically still the error message displays..do i need a new cable??

[RevBooter]

try the following....

right click my computer, manage, device manager, make sure there are no yellow exclamation or questions marks saying anything along the lines of "ethernet controller".

right click my computer, manager, and under event viewer, make sure there nothing in there about hardware failure for the particular NIC.

check both ends of the ethernet cable are plugged in securely. replace ethernet cables.

check the speed of the network card from auto detect to the settings of the network card, or the settings of the designated switch port e.g. 100 full or 10 half.

ensure that if it is dhcp that it is picking up correct ip settings, if not, and it is static, ensure they are set ok.

update the drivers from the manufacturers website

replace the NIC if it is a removable PCI or PCMCIA card (As a last resort)

everything imaginable is above is one of this does not work, a nice big hammer :)