How to setup a VPN Client on Windows XP Professional

Problem: I am a system administrator in a company with three offices. An ISP in town provides me microwave-radio connectivity between two of my offices and their base station, and a VSAT connectivity to the third as it’s in another part of the country.

I have setup my VPN server at my HQ. I need to set up VPN clients at my branch office.

1) click your start menu >> control panel >> network and internet connections >> network connections
Click: create a new connection

2) You’ll get the ‘Welcome to the New Connection’ wizard, click ‘Next’ to continue

3) On the ‘Network Connection Type’ page, select the ‘Connect to the network at my workplace’ option and click ‘next’ to continue

4) select the ‘Virtual Private Network connection’ option and click ‘next’ to continue

5) Type a name for your VPN connection. Note: this is much like a label. You can name it anything. For this exercise, I call it myvpn1. Click ‘next’ to continue

6) The VPN server selection screen prompts for the server-name or IP address of your VPN server. If you are not the system administrator of your VPN server, you need to ask him/her for the VPN server-name or IP address and enter it here.

For this exercise, I typed in the IP address of my VPN server. Click ‘next’ to continue

7) Add the connection icon to your desktop for easy access and click ‘Finish’.

You’ll be prompted to immediately connect to your VPN server. If the VPN-server is online, type in the valid username and password as provided by your system administrator.

Click ‘connect’ to continue

If all goes well, you will be prompted to ‘accept’ the connection. Click ‘accept’ to login.

Note: if there are no other protocols other than TCP/IP to be requested for/configured during your VPN connection, check the box ‘do not request failed protocols next time’ so as not to receive the error msg: IPX/SPX or compatible CP reported error 733 blah blah blah’ every time you try to connect.

You’ll get a similar prompt on your toolbar:

9) Now, If you check your network connections on your client PC, or the desktop shortcut, you can see myvpn1 is connected

12) To disconnect from or connect to your server, right click your desktop VPN icon or on the VPN icon in ‘network connections’ above, and select ‘disconnect/connect’.

Tags: VPN