Topic: PPTP connections have been unreliable since E-Smith 5.5

[pwalter]

Ryan,

Like Jim, If I disconnect the SME server from the router and hook up my computer directly to the DSL router, pptp access works fine, as it does if I use a dial-up connection instead of the DSL line. The problem manifests itself when going through my SME6.01 box. I have already changed the NICs in the box, but no joy.

Peter

[ryan]

Jim & Peter here is some feedback.......

My posting from bug tracker:
>>>>>>
I have SME 6.0.1-01 (upgraded from 5.6) running at home for many months. Work was SME 5.6...no PPTP problems. Last week, upgraded work SME to 6.0.1-01. I can no longer PPTP from XP Pro behind my home SME server..error 619. Others users with hardware firewalls (or no firewall) have no problem connecting to the newly upgraded server. I have been using pptp vpn from home (cox cable modem) to work (cox fiber 9mb) for years until now. There IS a problem using PPTP with two 6.0.1-01 SME servers in the mix.
<<<<<<<

I got around the problem by changing my outbound (home) external IP address on SME.  I have Cox @work (in my home) which provides 3 static IP addresses.  I changed from IP1 to IP2..pptp worked.  I am back on IP1 and pptp has been connected for several hours.  I don't understand why this works, but felt it might help the forum.  Should I post this to the bug tracker?  

Hopefully this annoyance with 6.0.1-01 will be figured out soon.  I was about to replace my SME with a different server.

ryan

[ryan]

I meant hooking up a modem to the SME server and use it in dialup mode...your PC will still go through SME as it does now...just much slower, but your pptp might connect using the modem on SME.

Ryan

[pwalter]

Ryan,

hmmm... I haven't owned an external modem in years, and the internal modem in the server is not supported (winmodem). But, even if I *did* get it to work with a dial-up connection, that would not be suitable for production use - I need my DSL connection to work with pptp because I need the bandwidth to transfer large files. 56kbit/s will not cut it.

Peter

[ryan]

Peter,

When I switched from IP1 to IP2, pptp started working.  It continued to work after switching from IP2 to IP1....I am thinking if you get pptp to work with dialup on SME, you it might still work when you reinstall the nic card.............

ryan

[cc_skavenger]

Ryan,
When you change IPs, you have to re-configure the server, am I correct?  I wonder if there is something that gets fixed when you change IPs and the server re-creates the templates.

Just an Idea.

Marco

[brian2hand]

I have been struggling for 3 months to get my pptp working, ever since upgrading to ver 6.

I have searched every post I can find and have made a few of my own, and tried hundreds of the suggestion, still with no joy.

It seems to me that VPN does not work in v6.

This is frustrating, as I used it extensively earlier.

[ryan]

Brian,

PPTP VPN works fine on SME 6 as long as your client is not passing traffic through a SME 6 server to the PPTP SME 6 VPN server.  I don't think their is a solution..I personally am giving up and installing IPCop at my home (keeping SME 6 for services).

good luck,

ryan

[brian2hand]

Ryan,

I had no problems using v5.6, but since  upgrading to v6.01 I have not been able to connect.

I believe it may have something to do with the fact that I have an AMD Athlon XP 2800+ CPU.

I am connecting directly to my server - I cannot even connect directly.

It connects, verifies passwords and then stops when registering the computer on the network.

The error messages are not consistent either, but essentially are similar to the following:
 CTRL: Received PPTP Control Message (type: 15)
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: Ignored a SET LINK INFO packet with real ACCMs!
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 kernel: divert: not allocating divert_blk for non-ethernet device ppp1
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Using interface ppp1
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 /etc/hotplug/net.agent: assuming ppp1 is already up
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 modprobe: modprobe: Can't locate module ppp-compress-18
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: MPPE required, but kernel has no support.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: CHAP peer authentication succeeded for john
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: Received PPTP Control Message (type: 15)
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: Got a SET LINK INFO packet with standard ACCMs
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Connection terminated.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Connect time 0.1 minutes.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Sent 0 bytes, received 44 bytes.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Connect time 0.1 minutes.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Sent 0 bytes, received 44 bytes.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pppd[8833]: Exit.
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 kernel: divert: no divert_blk to free, ppp1 not ethernet
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: GRE: read(fd=5,buffer=804d940,len=8196) from PTY failed: status = -1 error = Input/output error
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 /etc/hotplug/net.agent: NET unregister event not supported
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: PTY read or GRE write failed (pty,gre)=(5,6)
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: Client 192.168.1.101 control connection finished
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[8832]: CTRL: Exiting now
Aug  6 08:37:50 fs1 pptpd[3020]: MGR: Reaped child 8832

I have tried all possible client configuratons.

[murmele]

did you play around with your kernel ?

try setting up a fresch sme server install and see if it works. it saves you time while looking after what is causing this.

peter

[brian2hand]

no, but I am trying a ew kernel now

Thanks

[pietdejong]

Has anyone found a solution on this subject yet ?

I am willing to help, since my connections are intermittend as well. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work.

[bushinc]

I am using the community release 6.0.1 for outbound PPTP connecdtions to other SME servers and a SME6.0 server for inbound PPTP connections.

Outbound problems for me occur if I stop a pptp connection and try to restart it.  I don't know if a connection needs to be timed out before a new one can start.  I work around this problem by using a wireless connection that I have that bypasses the SME server and gets me out to the Internet directoly.

Inbound has only been a problem for one user who has Windows 98 at home.  Her configuration worked with an older version of SME, but not with the 6.0 version.  Unfortunately I'm not sure which version she was dialing in that worked...probably 5.6...

[raem]

> I don't know if a connection needs to be timed out > before a new one can start.  

I believe Charlie said there is a 10 minute timeout (or thereabouts) which I think can be adjusted, search the old posts on VPN.

[pietdejong]

In my case its not a timeout issue.
Came in this morning, tried to make a connection, bu to no avail, when I use smoothwall as a router instead of SME 6 I get solid connections every time.

I am considering going for either m0n0wall, smoothwall or ipcop as a router.

M0n0 seems quite nice sinec it does traffic shaping as well.