When I was using Xubuntu Dapper, I was able to set up a PPTP connection to my workplace VPN. Overall it was a pretty easy exercise.
Unfortunately in Xubuntu Edgy, it’s been more troublesome.
I initially installed and ran pptpconfig (as I did for Dapper), which was configured in the same way. However when I tried to make the PPTP connection I was greeted with the unhappy error
Using interface ppp0
pptpconfig: monitoring interface ppp0
Connect: ppp0 /dev/pts/1
CHAP authentication succeeded
MPPE 128-bit stateless compression enabled
Cannot determine ethernet address for proxy ARP
In the end I was able to figure this out; by installing the network-manager framework. Unfortunately this requires some amount of GNOME dependencies. The sort of dependecies that I’m quite prepared to pay, especially since most have been already installed for other applications. On lower end machines, this may not the way you want to go.
The packages you need are in both the main and universe repositories; network-manager, network-manager-pptp and network-manager-gnome.
Once you have them installed, simply run nm-applet (if it’s not already running) from the command line, and the applet should appear in the system tray of your panel.
From there it is quite simple to setup the VPN connection.
First click the applet and then VPN connections and Configure VPN.
When the dialog opens, choose to Add a new connection, and follow the prompts.
Next simply enter in the name you wish to call the connection, and the IP address of the VPN.
In the authentication tab, check the Refuse EAP checkbox and then you are done.
To connect to the VPN click on the applet and choose the connection.
Finally enter in the username and password required to make the connection.
If the connection is successful the network-manager applet should have a little lock over it. Then you are away!
Hi – I am able to add the vpn entry, but then the name doesn’t appear in the applet – any suggestions?
Fixed – just needed a restart. “Killall gnome-panel” is not enough. Cheers.
Hey glad you sorted it out. I have been having my own problems.
This applet worked great for a day, and has been a pain ever since.
I can start it and use it without any issues, yet when I logout or restart, the session manager starts six instances of the applet when I log back in.
Whenever you save a session, it goes on the cache:
~/.cache/xfce4/desktop
Clean it up once in a while, that should do it.
Hello! It seems to be a piece of cake, but unfortunately I have a trouble like this: I tryed both GNOME (network-manager) and KDE (knetworkmanager), but I was always told that no network device is found. Thus in GNOME version I can’t even configure vpn connections. In KDE frontend I can configure connection, but I’m not able to start it because it appears to the program that I don’t have any network devices, though I have one working inside a local network.. Any suggestions? :-/
How do you set a domain name with network manager? Is it possible?
Ah yes, and Eugene, I had the same problem you did. All I had to do was to select the packages of network manager and reinstall them.
I had a similar issue (cannot find all my network devices) in the ubuntu gnome implementation of networkmanager. googling gave me some invaluable advice:
seems if you had a device activated using the normal networking aplet (system>administration>network) before you install networkmanager – that device(s) will not be seen by networkmanager.
seems you have to manually edit your inte4rfaces file (sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces) and remove ALL other lines except the first 2 referring to the lopback interface. Back up your interfaces file first.
should look like this.
=========
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
========
then restart
Yes that’s correct. You can find that and more info on Network Manager here.
Ubuntu Community Docs – Network Manager
Network Manager is still troublesome for me as it won’t manage my wireless connection (D-Link card using the RT61 chipset). The only way I can use my wireless is through the /etc/network/interfaces method.
how to use certificate files (downloaded on windows on domain login) to connect to a secure vpn?
Is it possible to NOT have all traffic tunneled through the VPN connection?
Worked great in Feisty, thanks.
This failed for me as I do not know how to specify “Use Domain”
Any suggestions?
To specify a name, just do it windows style.. like this: MyDomain\username
Hello! This post has solved two of my biggest networking problems in Feisty, connecting to the vpn at our office, and doing so with a wireless connection! Talk about two birds with one stone.
There’s just one strange thing about my network-manager though. I have two VPN configurations left over from two previous attempts at making the vpn connection run (install-deinstall-reinstall) and now I have three vpn connection choices, only one of which i can edit (the newest one, the one that works).
Any idea how i can remove the two other VPN configs and just leave this third one that works?
Looks like i found an answer to my question after a good night’s sleep. Went to gconf-editor via terminal and unset the keys for the two non-working connections. When I exited gconf-editor I checked the VPN list in network-manager and now only the working one is listed.
I can’t seem to connect to my VPN Connection. And the error message is just
VPN Failure
Could not start the VPN Connection MyVPN.
Any ideas how to fix this, or as to how I can get more details from the error message so that I know what went wrong?
Thanks
Want to start your private office arms race right now?
I just got my own USB rocket launcher
Awsome thing.
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You can get the gadget here: http://tinyurl.com/2qul3c
Check out the video they have on the page.
Cheers
Marko Fando
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Enter the Secret Amazon Web Pages:
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bambit: “Looks like i found an answer to my question after a good night’s sleep. Went to gconf-editor via terminal and unset the keys for the two non-working connections. When I exited gconf-editor I checked the VPN list in network-manager and now only the working one is listed.”
Thanks, solved my problem
very interesting.
i’m adding in RSS Reader
I’m using Ubuntu 7.10 with Network Manager (and am an Ubuntu virgin). The basic setup is fairly straight forward (given an import file and the required certificate and key files). What I can’t figure out how to do is to get DNS configured appropriately. Let me explain…
When not VPNed to work I can access internet sites fine. When I do VPN into work I can access my company’s internal network but cannot access the internet. What seems to happen is that the resolv.conf file is automagically updated when the VPN is started and reset on disconnect.
When disconnected it has my ISP’s DNS server listed. When connected it has my company’s DNS server.
How can I influence the content of this file to keep my ISP’s DNS server as the primary entry and my company’s DNS server as a secondary entry?
There is an update-resolv-conf in /etc/openvpn (the directory I put the certificate and key files) which has a comment about setting it as the up and down file in the *.conf file for the VPN connection. However, the Network Manager doesn’t provide any inputs for up and down scripts. How do I configure it? Or is there some other way of doing this?
Help please!
Hi, i represent anonymous vpn service based in Canada. You can use it for anonymous surfing.
I am sure that there are plenty of positives out there, but what have you seen for yourself? Are you trying to play with my clever forecast Oh, good joke) How do you get a frog off the back window of your car? Use the rear defrogger.
interesting. My vpn