content:en_us:6_pptp_server

PPTP Server

The PPTP Server app is a secure and cost effective way to provide road warrior VPN connectivity. The PPTP VPN client is built-in to Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7. No extra software is required and ClearOS provides full password and data encryption.

Installation

If your system does not have this app available, you can install it via the Marketplace.

You can find this feature in the menu system at the following location:

<navigation>Network|VPN|PPTP Server</navigation>

Configuration

Configuring the PPTP Server

Local IP and Remote IP

You must select a range of LAN IP addresses for the PPTP VPN connections. This range should be on the same network as your local area network. By default, the DHCP Server on ClearOS only uses IP addresses above x.x.x.100. All addresses below this number are reserved for static use. We strongly suggest you use this sub-100 static range for PPTP.

Encryption Key Size

Most PPTP VPN clients support the stronger 128-bit encryption key. However, some VPN clients (notably handheld computers and mobile phones) may only support 40-bit encryption. Change the encryption key size to meet your needs.

WINS Server

The Microsoft Networking WINS server used by the PPTP client. Depending on your network configuration, you may need to specify the WINS settings in VPN client configuration.

DNS Server

The DNS server used by the PPTP client.

Usernames and Passwords

PPTP users must have a valid account with the PPTP option enabled. See the User Manager for more information.

Configuring Microsoft Windows

Configuring Windows XP

The PPTP client is built-in to Windows XP.

  • Go to the Control Panel.
  • Click on Network Internet Connections (this step may not be necessary).
  • Click on Network Connections.
  • Click on Create a New Connection to start the configuration wizard
  • Select connect to the network at my workplace.
  • Select Virtual Private Network connection.
  • Add a connection name, and dial settings, and hostname.
  • Click on the Properties button (or right-click on the new connection, and select Properties from the menu.
  • Select the Security
  • Make sure Require data encryption is selected.
  • Select the Networking tab.
  • From the Type of VPN drop box, select PPTP VPN.

PPTP Passthrough

PPTP requires special software when passing through firewalls. This feature is included with ClearOS. However, there is one important restriction for PPTP pass-through mode: a PPTP server must not be running on the same gateway that has PPTP connections crossing it.

If you run a PPTP server on a ClearOS gateway, you will not be able to have people from behind the same gateway make reliable outbound PPTP connections to other servers. By default, the firewall will automatically disable PPTP pass-through when the firewall already allows connections to a PPTP server. You will see warning messages in the web-based configuration about these configuration issues.

Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to have both PPTP pass-through and a PPTP server running at the same time. To do this, you need to override the firewall behavior noted in the previous paragraph. In the /etc/clearos/firewall.conf file, add the following line:

PPTP_PASSTHROUGH_FORCE=“yes”

Then restart the firewall with the following command:

/sbin/service firewall restart

Troubleshooting

Error 619, PPTP and Firewalls

PPTP requires special software when passing through gateways/firewalls. If you are having trouble connecting to a PPTP server, make sure any gateways/firewalls between your desktop and the ClearOS server support PPTP passthrough mode. If you see the following in the /var/log/messages log file on the ClearOS system, then it is likely a PPTP passthrough issue on the client side of the connection:

PTY read or GRE write failed

You can view log files via the web-based administration tool – go to <navigation>Reports|Log Viewer</navigation> in the menu.

Another quick way to diagnose the issue is by connecting to the PPTP server while connected directly to the local network. With a direct connection to the ClearOS PPTP server, you can eliminate the potential for the PPTP passthrough issue.

Two PPTP Connections to the Same Server

The PPTP protocol does not allow two VPN connections from the same remote IP address. In other words, if you have two people behind a gateway (for example, ClearOS) connecting to the same PPTP server, then the connection should fail. Note: it is fine to have two people behind a gateway connecting to different PPTP servers.

Some PPTP servers and gateways (including ClearOS) do make an exception for this shortcoming. However, some PPTP servers may strictly follow the standard below:

The PPTP RFC specifies in section 3.1.3 that there may only be one control channel connection between two systems. This should mean that you can only masquerade one PPTP session at a time with a given remote server, but in practice the MS implementation of PPTP does not enforce this, at least not as of NT 4.0 Service Pack 4. If the PPTP server you're trying to connect to only permits one connection at a time, it's following the protocol rules properly. Note that this does not affect a masqueraded server, only multiple masqueraded clients attempting to contact the same remote server.
content/en_us/6_pptp_server.txt · Last modified: 2015/08/11 16:23 (external edit)