Table of Contents
Managing the VPN ClientManaging Connection Entries
Viewing Tunnel Details
Event Logging
Managing the VPN Client
This chapter describes how to manage connection entries, and view and manage the event logging.
Managing Connection Entries
The following sections describe the operations used to manage connection entries. This includes how to import, modify, and delete a connection entry.
Importing a Connection Entry
You can automatically configure your VPN client with new settings by importing a new configuration file (a file with a .pcf extension, called a profile) supplied by your network administrator.
Step 1 Click the Connection Entries tab.
Step 2 Click Import at the top of the VPN client window. The Import VPN Connection dialog box appears (Figure 7-1).
Figure 7-1 Import VPN Connection
Step 3 Locate the connection entry to import. A valid connection entry configuration file must have a .pcf extension.
Step 4 Click Open. The connection entry is added to the list of available profiles and you return to the Connection Entries tab.
Alternately, you can copy the .pcf file into the profiles directory and restart the VPN client application.
Modifying a Connection Entry
You can make changes to a connection entry at any time. The new configuration is stored in the profiles directory and is applied during the next connection attempt.
Step 1 Click the Connection Entries tab.
Step 2 Select the connection entry to modify.
Step 3 Click Modify at the top of the VPN client window. The VPN Client Properties dialog box appears (Figure 7-2).
Figure 7-2 VPN Client Properties
The existing configuration for this connection entry appears.
Step 4 Make adjustments to this connection entry configuration.
Step 5 Click Save. The VPN client Properties dialog box closes and you return to the Connection Entries tab.
Deleting a Connection Entry
You can delete any connection entry that does not have an active VPN connection.
Step 1 The Connection Entries tab must be forward.
Step 2 Select the connection entry to delete.
Step 3 Click Delete at the top of the VPN client window. You are prompted to confirm the connection entry to delete (Figure 7-3).
Figure 7-3 Delete Connection Entry Warning
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Caution You cannot retrieve a connection entry that has been deleted. |
Step 4 Click Delete to delete this connection entry. The connection entry is removed from the profiles directory and you are returned to the Connection Entries tab.
Click Do not Delete to return to the VPN client window without deleting the selected connection entry.
Viewing Tunnel Details
The Tunnel Details tab displays information related to the active VPN session, including:
Figure 7-4 shows the Tunnel Details tab display, which includes the IP addresses assigned for this session and byte and packet statistics.
Figure 7-4 Tunnel Details Tab
Use the Reset button at the top of the VPN client window to clear the fields in the tunnel details display. Alternately, you can reset the statistics by choosing Reset Stats from the Connection Entries menu.
Table 7-1 describes the Tunnel Details statistics.
Notifications
The VPN device that provides your connection to the private network might send notifications to the VPN client. These notifications appear on the Notifications window. To display the notifications window (Figure 7-5), click Notifications on the Tunnel Connections tab.
When you first establish a VPN connection, a notification regarding your connection appears. This is typically the login banner or connection history.
Other notifications might include messages from your network administrator about upgrades to the VPN client software or information regarding the specific VPN device you are connected to.
Figure 7-5 Notifications Window
The top pane of the Notifications window lists the title of each stored notification. The bottom pane displays the notification message associated with the selected title.
All notifications from the VPN device are stored in this display during the VPN session. Every VPN session contains at least one notification, the connection history.
VPN Client Routes
The routes window displays the routes that VPN traffic takes into the network, which can be either excluded routes or secured routes.
To display route data during an active VPN session, click Routes on the Tunnel Connections tab. The Routes window appears (Figure 7-6).
Figure 7-6 VPN Client Routes
The excluded routes pane displays:
The secured routes pane displays:
- Keys—An established Security Association (SA). When you establish a connection using a secured route, an SA is created, and a key appears next to that route to represent that keys have been established.
- Network—The IP address of the VPN device providing the secured route to the network.
- Subnet Mask—The subnet mask applied to the secured route.
- Bytes—The number of bytes passed through the secured route.
Event Logging
The following sections describe how to view and manage the VPN client event log.
The event log can help you diagnose problems with an IPSec connection between the VPN client and a peer VPN device. The log collects event messages from all processes that contribute to the client-peer connection.
From the Log tab on the VPN client window you can:
Enable Logging
To enable logging, click Enable at the top of the VPN client window. The event logging window appears (Figure 7-7).
Figure 7-7 Event Log
Each VPN session contains at least one log entry; the connection history.
To disable logging, click the Disable button at the top of the VPN client window.
Clear Logging
To clear the event messages from the logging window, click Clear at the top of the VPN client window. Clearing the display does not reset event numbering or clear the log file.
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Note If you want to store the event messages, you must manually copy and paste them into a text file before you clear the display. |
Set Logging Options
Logging options apply to the active VPN session. Changing the logging settings clears the event log and the new logging settings take effect immediately.
To set logging options for the VPN client:
Step 1 Click the Log tab.
Step 2 Click Options at the top of the VPN client window. The Logging Options dialog box appears (Figure 7-8).
Figure 7-8 Logging Options
Table 7-2 describes the log classes that generate events in the VPN client log viewer.
Step 3 Select the logging level for each module that uses logging services.The logging levels allow you to choose the amount of information you want to capture. Figure 7-8 shows the logging levels.
Figure 7-9 Event Logging Levels
There are four event logging levels:
Step 4 Click Apply. This clears the event log and immediately applies the new logging levels.
External Log Viewer
To display the events log in a separate window, click External Log Viewer at the top of the VPN client window. The VPN client Connection Log window appears (Figure 7-10).
Figure 7-10 Connection Log
To save the data in the event log, copy and paste the log into a text file.