This article outlines instructions to configure a client VPN connection on commonly-used operating systems. For more information about client VPN, please refer to our Client VPN Overviewdocumentation.

For troubleshooting, please refer to our Troubleshooting Client VPN documentation.

The problem is in setting up the connection: On the cisco official website there is a remark about supported vpn clients and there mac os x built in IPSec client seems to be suitable. Moreover, for ASA 5500 it's suitable both in 'l2tp over ipsec' and 'Cisco IPSec' modes. Now, let's try to establish 'Cisco IPSec' (settingsnetworkadd connection). Jul 30, 2013 As an alternative to downloading the Cisco VPN client for Mac OS X, you can also use the built in IPSec version found on your machine. This might be more convenient for those who wish to avoid installing additional software. You will need an ANL Domain Account in order to access the VPN. I have a client ipsec vpn set up to an asa5510. There is a mac that is using this via the built in mac ipsec client. They will get disconnected after a period of non-use of the vpn. Then they are not able to reconnect until after multiple tries. I am wondering if there is a built in idle disconn. This thin design, IPSec implementation is available via Cisco.com for use with any Cisco central site remote access VPN product and is included free of charge with the Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator.

Android

To configure an Android device to connect to the Client VPN, follow these steps:

• Navigate to Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> VPN
• Click the Plus Icon to add an additional VPN profile

• Name: This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'

• Type: select L2TP/IPSEC PSK

• Server address: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.

• IPSec pre-shared key: Enter the pre-shared key that admin created in Security appliance >Configure > Client VPN settings.

• Press save

You will be prompted for user credentials when you connect.

Chrome OS

Chrome OS based devices can be configured to connect to the Client VPN feature on MX Security Appliances. This allows remote users to securely connect to the LAN. This article will cover how to configure the VPN connection on a Chrome OS device. For more information on how to setup the Client VPN feature of the MX or how to connect from other operating systems, please visit the MX documentation.

1. If you haven't already, sign in to your Chromebook.
2. Click the status area at the bottom of your screen, where your account picture is located.
3. Select Settings.
4. In the 'Internet connection' section, click Add connection.
5. Select Add private network.
6. In the box that appears, fill in the information below:
   1. Server hostname:Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
   2. Service name: This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'
   3. Provider type: Select L2TP/IPsec + Pre-shared key.
   4. Pre-shared key: Enter shared secret that admin created in Security appliance >Configure > Client VPN settings.
   5. Username credentials for connecting to VPN. If using Meraki authentication, this will be an e-mail address.
   6. Password credentials for connecting to VPN.
7. Click Connect.

For more information regarding the configuration of VPN connections in Chrome OS, visit the Google Support page.

To configure an iOS device to connect to the Client VPN, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings -> General-> VPN -> Add VPN Configuration...
2. Type: set to L2TP.
3. Description:This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'
4. Server: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
5. Account: Enter the username
6. Password: Enter if desired. If the password is left blank, it will need to be entered each time the device attempts to connect to the Client VPN.
7. Secret: Enter shared secret that admin created in Security appliance >Configure > Client VPN settings.
8. Ensure that Send All Traffic is set to On.
9. Save the configuration.

macOS

Currently only the following authentication mechanisms are supported:

• User authentication: Active Directory (AD), RADIUS, or Meraki hosted authentication.

• Machine authentication: Preshared keys (a.k.a., shared secret).

When using Meraki hosted authentication, VPN account/user name setting on client devices (e.g., PC or Mac) is the user email address entered in the Dashboard.

The instructions below are tested on Mac OS 10.7.3 (Lion).

Open System Preferences > Network from Mac applications menu. Click the '+' button to create a new service, then select VPN as the interface type, and choose L2TP over IPsec from the pull-down menu.

• Server Address: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
• Account Name: Enter the account name of the user (based on AD, RADIUS or Meraki Cloud authentication).

• User Authentication > Password: User password (based on AD, RADIUS or Meraki Cloud authentication).
• Machine Authentication > Shared Secret: Enter shared secret that admin created in Security appliance >Configure > Client VPN settings.

The VPN connectivity will not be established if you don't enable the Send all traffic over VPN connection option!

Windows 7

Currently only the following authentication mechanisms are supported:

• User authentication: Active Directory (AD), RADIUS, or Meraki hosted authentication.

• Machine authentication: Preshared keys (a.k.a., shared secret).

When using Meraki hosted authentication, VPN account/user name setting on client devices (e.g., PC or Mac) is the user email address entered in the Dashboard.

Open Start Menu > Control Panel, click on Network and Internet, click on View network status and tasks.

In the Set up a connection or network pop-up window, choose Connect to a workplace (Set up a dial-up or VPN connection to your workplace).

Choose Use my Internet connection (VPN), in the Connect to a workspace dialog window.

In the Connect to a Workplace dialog box, enter:

• Internet address: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
• Destination name:This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'

Choose 'Don't connect now; just set it up so that I can connect later' option.

Click Next. In the next dialog window, enter the user credentials, and click Create.

Cisco Ipsec Vpn Client Mac Download

Despite the name 'Unencrypted PAP', the client's password is sent encrypted over an IPsec tunnel between the client device and the MX. The password is fully secure and never sent in clear text over either the WAN or the LAN.

Windows 8

Currently only the following authentication mechanisms are supported:

• User authentication: Active Directory (AD), RADIUS, or Meraki hosted authentication.

• Machine authentication: Preshared keys (a.k.a., shared secret).

When using Meraki hosted authentication, VPN account/user name setting on client devices (e.g., PC or Mac) is the user email address entered in the Dashboard.

Open Start Menu > Network and Sharing Center and click Settings.

In the Set Up a Connection or Network pop-up window, choose Connect to a workplace.
(Set up a dial-up or VPN connection to your workplace).

Choose Use my Internet connection (VPN), in the Connect to a Workspace dialog window.

In the Connect to a Workplace dialog box, enter:

• Internet address: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
• Destination name:This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'

Go back to Network and Sharing Center and click Change Adapter Settings.

Despite the name 'Unencrypted PAP', the client's password is sent encrypted over an IPsec tunnel between the client device and the MX. The password is fully secure and never sent in clear text over either the WAN or the LAN.

Windows 10

Currently only the following authentication mechanisms are supported:

• User authentication: Active Directory (AD), RADIUS, or Meraki hosted authentication.

• Machine authentication: Preshared keys (a.k.a., shared secret).

When using Meraki hosted authentication, VPN account/user name setting on client devices (e.g., PC or Mac) is the user email address entered in the Dashboard.

Open Start Menu > Search 'VPN' > Click Change virtual private networks (VPN)

From the VPN settings page, click Add a VPN connection.

In the Add a VPN connection dialog:

• VPN provider: Set to Windows (built-in)
• Connection name: This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'
• Server name or address: Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.
• VPN type: Select L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key
• User name and Password: optional

Press Save.

After the VPN connection has been created, click Change adapter options under Related settings.

Right-click on the VPN Connection from the list of adapters and click Properties.

Despite the name 'Unencrypted PAP', the client's password is sent encrypted over an IPsec tunnel between the client device and the MX. The password is fully secure and never sent in clear text over either the WAN or the LAN.

In Advanced Properties dialog box, choose 'Use preshared key for authentication' and enter the pre-shared key that admin created in Security appliance >Configure > Client VPN settings.

Back at the Network Connections window, right-click on the VPN connection and click Connect / Disconnect.

Find your VPN profile and click Connect.

Windows XP

Currently only the following authentication mechanisms are supported:

• User authentication: Active Directory (AD), RADIUS, or Meraki hosted authentication.
• Machine authentication: Preshared keys (a.k.a., shared secret).

When using Meraki hosted authentication, use the email address for VPN account / user name.

Open Start Menu > Control Panel, click on Network Connections.

In the Network Tasks section, click on Create a new connection.

Choose Connect to the network at my workplace, in the New Connection Wizard window.

Choose Virtual Private Network connection in the next section.

Then, give a name for this connection. This can be anything you want to name this connection, for example, 'Work VPN.'

Enter the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.

In the Connect <Connection Name> box, click on Properties

In the General tab, verify the hostname (e.g. .com)orthe active WAN IP (e.g. XXX.XXX.XXX). Hostname is encouraged instead of active WAN IP because it is more reliable in cases of WAN failover. Admin can find them in Dashboard, under Security appliance > Monitor > Appliance status.

Despite the name 'Unencrypted PAP', the client's password is sent encrypted over an IPsec tunnel between the client device and the MX. The password is fully secure and never sent in clear text over either the WAN or the LAN.

Since Client VPN uses the L2TP over IPsec standard, any Linux client that properly supports this standard should suffice. Please note that newer versions of Ubuntu do not ship with a VPN client that supports L2TP/IP, and will therefore require a 3rd party VPN client that supports the protocol.

Note: The xl2tp package does not send user credentials properly to the MX when using Meraki Cloud Controller authentication, and this causes the authentication request to fail. Active Directory or RADIUS authentication can be used instead for successful authentication.

Configuring Ubuntu 20.04

Ubuntu does not support L2TP VPN by default. You will need to install a couple of software packages to enable this functionality. The instructions below were written for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with the Gnome desktop environment. Ubuntu versions 16.04 and 18.04 can be configured in a similar manner. However, due to the large number of Linux versions available, it is not feasible to document every supported Ubuntu version.

In order to begin the VPN setup, open up a terminal window. Do this by searching for Terminal in your application list. Click on the Terminal icon to open a new terminal session.

Once the terminal window appears, you will need to enter a few commands.

Note: You will need to be a part of the “sudoers” group to install these packages. If you receive an error message like “<username> is not in the sudoers file.” you will need to either adjust your permissions, contact your administrator to add your account as an administrator or have them install the software for you.

Once the packages have been installed, you may open up the Network Settings by searching for Settings in the application list, or by clicking on the Network icon at the top right of the screen and selecting Wired (or Wireless) Settings.

Once the Network Settings window pops up, you will see there is a VPN section listed. Click on the + icon to set up a new VPN connection.

Select the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) VPN type on the modal pop up window. If L2TP is not listed as an option, please see the first step about installing the required packages.

After selecting the L2TP option, a new modal will pop up titled Add VPN. Fill out your VPN Name, Gateway, User name, and Password information here.

Note: To save your password on this screen, you must select the appropriate option from the question mark on the password field.

Next, click on the IPsec Settings button to open the L2TP IPsec Options modal.

Once the modal pops up, expand the Advanced options, and enter the following:

Select OK to continue. You will be returned back to the Add VPN modal. Select the PPP Settings button.

On the L2TP PPP Options modal, select only the PAP authentication method. Be sure the other authentication methods are de-selected. All other options can remain as the default. Select OK to continue.

Select Add at the top right corner of the Add VPN modal to complete the VPN setup.

Now you may connect your VPN by toggling the button on the Network Settings page:

Or by selecting the Connect option from the top right corner menu.

Upon successful connection, a VPN icon will appear next to the network icon in the status bar.

Note: The version of network-manager-l2tp that is installed along with xl2tpd is known to cause issues when connecting to Meraki Appliances. To alleviate this, you must disable the xl2tpd service when using the network-manager GUI to connect to a Meraki VPN.

To stop the xl2tpd service once use this Terminal command:

sudo service xl2tpd stop

To stop the xl2tpd service for all subsequent reboots use this Terminal command:

sudo update-rc.d xl2tpd disable

Contents

Introduction

This document provides step-by-step instructions on how to install and uninstall the Cisco VPN Client version 3.5 for Mac on a Mac OS version 10.1.

In order to download the latest VPN Client version for Mac OS, refer to the Software Center (registered customers only) .

Prerequisites

Requirements

The procedures in this document should be implemented in the Mac OS 10.1 hard drive.

Components Used

The information in this document is based on the software and hardware versions below.

• Cisco VPN Client 3.5

• Mac OS 10.1

Note: To use this sample configuration with Mac OS X 10.2, you must be running Cisco VPN Client 3.6 or later. In addition, note that the VPN Client for Mac version 3.6 does not work on interface en1 (Apple AirPort WiFi) card when running Mac OS X 10.2. More information and a workaround are recorded as Bug ID CSCdy4112 (registered customers only) .

Conventions

For more information on document conventions, refer to the Cisco Technical Tips Conventions.

Installing the VPN Client

In order to install the VPN Client, which requires registry changes to your Mac OS 10.1, you must be in root mode.

Follow these instructions in order to install the VPN Client:

1. Complete these steps in order to enable the root user and set up the password:

   1. Enable Root mode.

   2. Sign into your Mac as a regular user.

   3. Double click the Hard Drive icon.

   4. Choose Applications > Utilities > Netinfo Manager.

   5. From Netinfo Manager, choose Domain > Security > Authenticate.

      You are prompted for administrator password for the admin user. The admin user is the one who created the administrator account.

   6. From Netinfo Manager, choose Domain > Security > Enable Root User.

   7. After you enable the root user, log in as the root user.

2. Locate the the VPN Client TAR file as downloaded from Cisco web site, and double-click the TAR image in order to unpack it.

   The files will be placed into a folder called 'vpnclient' on your desktop. The folder includes the necessary files to install and uninstall the VPN client.

3. From the terminal window, go to the vpnclient folder by changing the directory '/' folder, such as 'cd desktop/vpnclient,' and pressing Enter. Then type ./vpn_install to install the VPN Client in the desired folder.

4. Choose Applications > Security > Netinfo Manager, and then choose Domain > Security > Disable Root User in order to disable the root user.

5. Choose Domain > Security > Deauthenticate in order to deauthenticate the root user.

6. Quit the Netinfo Manager.

7. Restart your Mac and log in as a normal user. This starts the VPN service that is installed with the VPN Client.

Location of the User Profiles

You can modify the sample.pcf file and save it as a new file in same location.

Uninstalling the VPN Client

Cisco Vpn Mac Client

In order to uninstall the VPN Client, you must clean registry entries from within the Mac system. You also need root access. The following is output from uninstalling the VPN Client.

Ipsec Vpn Client Windows 10

1. Enable root mode. (This is the same as Step 1 in Installing the VPN Client.)

2. Uninstall the VPN Client.

3. Disable and deauthenticate root mode. (This is the same as Steps 4 and 5 in Installing the VPN Client.)

4. Restart the Mac.

Cisco Ipsec Vpn Client Windows 10

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