PPTP connection to RV220W fails

[Frederik Tylle]

Hi all!

I've got trouble using PPTP connections with the RV220W small business router.

When trying to connect to the router of a branch office with the Windows PPTP client (i.e. on Windows 7) from outside the companies network first everything seems to be in working order (user name and password are checked, the device is registered in the remote subnet) but then a window pops up saying there has been an error connecting.

Here is some information on my setup:

• RV220W with firmware 1.0.3.5
• It connects to the Internet using PPPoE dialin
• dyndns account configured and working
• Another router working in "Act as a DSL modem" mode is used as a modem (AVM FRITZ!Box 7170)
• The RV220W is maintaining a IPSec tunnel to a main office, which is working fine
• there are 2 local VLANs (one with access to VPN tunnel, one without), each with a own subnet (192.168.201.0/24 and 192.168.202.0/24)
• PPTP users are on a seperate subnet (192.168.203.101 - 192.168.203.111)

My first guess was, that the intermediate router acting as the modem could be a problem, but i verified all settings on that router and it should not filter anything. After all port forwardings, the IPSec tunnel and so on are working.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Frederik

[doug_counsil]

If memory serves me correctly, we had to setup the PPTP users on the the same subnet as you want them to have access to.  I think the limit is 10 users.  Give them the last 10 IPs in the subnet you want them to access to (ie 192.168.201.244 - 254).  It's been awhile since we've used the RV220W so I'm going off of memory here.

[Frederik Tylle]

The admin guide of the RV220W v.1.0.1.0 clearly states:

You must configure the PPTP server on a subnet different from the existing subnets.
PPTP users can have access to all subnets on the LAN side of the RV220W,
provided that inter-VLAN is enabled.

That was the reason I decided on using a seperate subnet. Also, I set up another RV220W for the next branch office to be connected to the main office with similar settings. I tested it in a local test setup here at the office and had no problem connecting via PPTP and accessing the local VLANs of the RV220W. So this does not seem to be the issue.

[linksysinfo]

You could also try Shrew VPN Client. number of people say it is good and works quite well with Cisco Products.

http://www.shrew.net/software

Regards Simon
http://www.linksysinfo.org

[doug_counsil]

@Frederik

I know, but that is how we had to configure PPTP in order to get it to work.  I believe it is a known bug that is being fixed in the current beta firmware.  I'm going off memory from reading other, older posts.  You might perform some searches to see if you can find previous chatter about PPTP and RV220W.

[Frederik Tylle]

@Simon: Thanks for the suggestion, but the Shrew VPN Client is IMHO a mere IPSec Client. If PPTP access wasn't a requirement I wouldn't be struggling with it

@Curits: I already have had a look at those older posts, but thought the bug had been fixed. And as it worked in my local test setup with similar settings I'm still quite confident it already is fixed.

Perhaps the installation of the next router at the next branch office will reveal new facts.

[Frederik Tylle]

As I'm still waiting for the second router to be installed, I compared the two configuration files of the two Router and noticed this:

In the configuration of the second router there are entries like

pptpServerUsers[x]["isConnected"] = "0"

for each PPTP user. But the first router lacks these entries. Could that be a problem? If yes, how do I fix it?

Any guess would be welcome.

Regards,

Frederik