Question

The Cisco VPN on a laptop won't work at home but will anywhere else.

Asked by: DivinsX2

We have a user that has a laptop.  The Cisco VPN works fine everywhere except at his home.  He has plugged the laptop directly into the modem and by-passed the wireless router.  He is using Time Warner Cable.  It use to work at one point in time but has since stopped.  Is there a program on the server side where I can check for blocked IP address or something similar?  Any ideas? Thanks

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-23 at 12:17:29ID24756184
Tags

cisco

,

cisco vpn

,

home

,

won't work

,

not working

,

location

Topics

Virtual Private Networking (VPN)

,

IPSec Security Protocol

Participating Experts
4
Points
250
Comments
27

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Cisco VPN Client and Netgear DG824 Wireless Router/A…
    I have a Netgear DG824M Wireless Router/Modem connected to my Broadband line at home. I have a laptop with a wireless PC card and browsing the internet 'wireless' is working fine. However, I also need to connect to my corporate LAN. The corporate LAN is behind a Cisco PIX 51...
  2. Cisco VPN
    I am using the PDM client and I have set up a Pix 501 to accept a VPN tunnel from the Cisco 3.0 software. It works great! I can go home and get on and have access to the entire network. Now When I try and login using PPTP it logs in okay but I can not see anything on the net...
  3. Cisco VPN
    Can someone give me some recommendations for the proper Cisco equipment? We have 1 main location with a T1 and 6 branch locations with all having some form of DSL (PPPoE and Static and Dynamic). We would like to setup a site to site VPN where all the branch locations conn...
  4. sprint wireless and cisco vpn
    I have sprint wireless mobile card that does not work with the cisco vpn. I can connect with regular wireless,lan, and verizon cards. They told me it was a vpn router issue. Come on. Everywhere else connects except through their service. Any ideas?

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: MikeKanePosted on 2009-09-23 at 12:26:17ID: 25406893

Is it the Cisco VPN or the Anyconnect client?  

If its the Cisco VPN, you need to have "IPSec passthrough" enabled for this to work correctly.    If you bypass your modem, and it still fails, you may want to check with TimeWarner to make sure they aren't blocking.  

If its the anyconnect client, what error are you receiving on the client?  

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-23 at 12:27:20ID: 25406903

Could be GRE protocol being blocked on your home router.  Your ISP can be contacted to see if they are blocking GRE traffic.

 

by: MikeKanePosted on 2009-09-23 at 12:58:49ID: 25407247

GRE doesnt come into play with the Cisco IPSEC or anyconnect....   Only PPTP.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-09-23 at 14:11:52ID: 25407992

It is Cisco VPN not AnyConnect.  I can't seem to find the "IPsec passthrough" option anywhere in the VPN software configuration on the workstation.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-09-23 at 14:46:59ID: 25408288

No DivinsX2, I think he meant that IPSec Passthrough may be blocked by your ISP device or ISP.  I think that was what he meant.

 

by: MikeKanePosted on 2009-09-23 at 15:00:45ID: 25408414

Correct Jeff....     IPSEC passthrough must be enabled on the outbound router and must be supported by the outbound devices.    

Since the laptop works away from this location, it must be either your equipment or the ISP that is causeing the issue.  

Either way, it sounds like you need to make a call to Time Warner Support (you have my sympathy) and complain about the issue.   Get their tech support to update the firmware on your device, or (if its manageable) have them show you where to enable the ipsec passthrough.   If its not the equipment, then raise hell with the ISP.    

This is a pretty commonplace solution.  A large ISP shouldn't block this.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-09-24 at 12:59:36ID: 25417211

According to Time Warner level 2-3 tech support along with their supervisors, there is no way to check to ensure that IPSEC is enabled.  I did notice that the modem was almost 10 years old though, so we are going to swap that out and see if that changes anything.  

I also reinstalled the Cisco VPN on the laptop.  The user now gets an error message: Secure VPN Connection Terminated Locally by the Client.  Contacting security gateway.  Reason 412 The remote peer is no longer responding.

 

by: MikeKanePosted on 2009-09-24 at 15:45:03ID: 25418702

Could be the same thing... and a 10 year old modem is pretty old....   The new modem might just do the trick - post back.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-01 at 10:00:22ID: 25470733

Well the problem still hasn't been fixed, so I'm not 100% sure why this was closed........................  The new modem did nothing. The router did nothing.  Laptop still works everywhere but the house.  Time Warner is saying they know nothing about IPSEC and how to check to see if it is enabled.

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-10-05 at 15:12:06ID: 25500335

In those cases I start a network capture at the client, each with working VPN and when failing. You can either use WireShark or Microsoft NetMon 3.3 for this, both are free.

Cisco VPN uses some strange ports, depending on the device it connects to. IPSec itself uses 500/udp, if NAT-T is involved additionally either 4500/udp or 10000/tcp.

 

by: lrmoorePosted on 2009-10-05 at 19:32:15ID: 25501513

Make sure the user's home router has VPN passthrough or IPSEC passthrough enabled. This is on their router, not the user's PC workstation.
Make sure that the VPN end point has NAT-T enabled - PIX or ASA?
Is the home user's IP subnet at home the same as the IP subnet on the other side of the VPN, i.e. at the office?

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-13 at 21:21:49ID: 25567217

I'll give these a try and get back to you.  

One update to this: the user took his old work laptop home to see if it would work and he got the same thing.  So that is 2 work laptops with VPN that will work everywhere else except at his house.  

He's bypassed the router already.  So I know it's not in there.  I'm thinking it has to do with some setting in the VPN program or something on the company's end.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-14 at 08:40:17ID: 25571811

Would it matter if the IP subnet was the same at home as in the office?  Is that possible?  How would I change it?

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-10-14 at 09:54:40ID: 25572569

The official statement is you need different networks on each side. The inofficial is it can work with the same network, but there are a lot of pitfalls, and it is not reliable.

Best is to change the home network, since that is done more easily than changing the office one. If you are lucky, narrowing the subnet mask for home is sufficient - a more specific route has precedence over the more general one. Since Cisco VPN is not using a filter driver but a virtual network interface (which is routable), there is a chance of working.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-28 at 10:40:38ID: 25686025

The user still cannot connect to the VPN using his username/password from home.  We tried 2 laptops and a desktop.  They work everywhere else except there.

Then, he tried a different username and password. Now it works from all computers.  

So the solution to this was to use a different username and password to connect. Still not sure why he is blocked using his name only from home.  All the settings are identical.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-28 at 10:44:08ID: 25686055

W/E

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-10-28 at 10:47:22ID: 25686095

Really strange. I have absolutely no idea why this should be a constraint of the VPN user ... But glad you found the culprit. However, can you explain why you want to accept any answer here? I would suggest to delete the question instead.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-10-28 at 11:57:29ID: 25686898

I don't want to delete it because there are a lot of good suggestions here and I think it may prove valuable for someone else in the future. The solution also is not solved.  I simply posted my work around.

Why is this only limited to this user in one area?  

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-10-28 at 12:42:16ID: 25687397

The Cisco client does not store information related to the VPN user. The Cisco device might, however. I'm off with any guess why this does not work with that user.

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-10-30 at 07:46:20ID: 25703448

I do not agree to the answers accepted. It is ok to accept your own answer, but I do not see why you should accept MikeKane's answer in addition without accepting other answers, too. I suggest to accept your own answer/workaround only, nothing else, as you want to have it in the PAQ database.

 

by: QlemoPosted on 2009-11-02 at 13:25:13ID: 25723915

See comment above.

 

by: DivinsX2Posted on 2009-11-04 at 07:42:20ID: 31632639

The user cannot connect at his home location using his credentials but can connect anywhere else on the globe.  

Right now, he is using a different login name to connect and it seems to be working fine.  

Still not sure why his credentials will not work only in one location but a different login will.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...