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SteveB2515Flag for United States of America

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Server 2012 Essentials, unable to connect to server via VPN

I'm running Server 2012 Essentials. Occasionally we will need to work remotely and have always used a VPN connection to access files located on the server. VPN access was set up using the Access Anywhere wizard. VPN access no longer works. This seems to have happened when I renewed the SSL Certificate. VPN no longer works, however Remote Web Access does work.

The Access Anywhere wizard reports it has detected an issue and suggests clicking Repair. That fails.

The Remote Access Dashboard shows a red 'X' at Network location server. If I scroll down, the details say:

Network Location Server: Not working properly
Error:
There is no response from the network location server URL. DirectAccess connectivity might not work as expected, and DirectAccess clients located inside the corporate network might not be able to reach internal resources.

This is a very small company that I own. I am our IT guy with I very little IT experience. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve
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Avatar of Jeffrey Kane - TechSoEasy
Jeffrey Kane - TechSoEasy
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Actually, sorry, my bad -- I was thinking SBS Standard, not Essentials.  There is no self-signed option here.  So how did you renew the SSL Certificate?  Did you use the Configure Anywhere Access Wizard to generate the CSR and then to install the cert?
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Hi Jeffrey. I've been using an SSL from GoDaddy for several years. I renew it each year, and because I only do it once a year, the process must be relearned each time. I always have trouble, but usually I can figure it out and get everything working again. I renewed in April, and this time, I have been unable to get the VPN portion to work.

To answer your question, yes, I generated  a CSR, but I did it from within IIS7.  I then followed GoDaddy's instructions on installing it on IIS 7.

I just tried re-running the Anywhere Access wizard. I first ran the wizard with both the VPN and Remote Web Access boxes unchecked, essentially turning Anywhere Access off. That finished successfully. I then ran the wizard again with both the VPN and Remote Web Access boxes checked. That did it! I now have VPN access again. Thank you!
-Steve
Thanks Jeffrey! Simple solution, but I've been pulling my hair out for a month trying to resolve this.
I don't know why you only get your certificate for a year at a time.  I recommend that in the future you get a 3-year cert so you don't have to worry about it as often -- that should only run you about $130.00 for all three years (if you find a good 35% - 40% promo code).