Unable to connect using vpnc but Window user can do it.
 

I am using vpnc on Fedora to get into a VPN however I am facing problems with the parameters that need to be supplied.


Enter IPSec gateway address: This address is known
Enter IPSec ID for : I do not know what goes here
Enter IPSec secret for : I do not know what goes here
Enter username I know what goes here
Enter password for - I 0know what goes here

and hence I get an error.

However another person can connect into the VPN when they use Windows without having to supply the values for
Enter IPSec ID for : I do not know what goes here
Enter IPSec secret for : I do not know what goes here

Does this mean that these values are residing somewhere on a file on the Windows machine. Can someone let me know where that file will be and how to retrieve those values?

For Fedora: Do I need to install or copy some file from the window machine here?

Is there an alternative to the vpnc command to get into the VPN which will just ask me for the username and password. Right now security is not so important. Getting into the network via VPN is most important.

Awaiting your reply/suggestion. Will appreciate it very much.

Save yourself a lot of time here, and ... talk with the party that's responsible for maintaining the other side of the connection. They will have access (a) to the parameters and secrets which might be "automagically supplied to" the Windows folks, and (b) most-importantly, the server-side console logs that will provide necessary diagnostic information.

They can, first, tell you exactly what to supply. Then, they can tell you a bit about what you're doing wrong. And, by design, you'll find that you really can't get anywhere without that. You see, secure systems like VPN are expressly designed not to divulge anything to the ("untrusted!!") person who shows up a'knockin' at their door. If the credentials supplied are exactly correct, the lock opens. If not, the response (by design!) gives no clue.

(Rest assured that thousands of folks right now are quite-successfully using these Linux tools to make VPN connections. But the process of successfully making a VPN connection is designed to be obtuse.)

Thanks very much. I do understand. I will do the same. Have a good day.

One more thing to note ... some of VPN's messages are just "pure crap." :) Even on the server-log side, they were written by programmers in programmer terms such that they basically don't give any useful information at all :mad: about the nature of the actual problem.

Classic example I had of this, when trying to connect, was "self-signed certificate in chain." Or something to that effect. And, yes, the server certificate (which was being used for many successful connections) was indeed self-signed ... but that was not the actual problem. It turns out that the person-in-charge had actually sent me the wrong ca.crt file ... one in which the "state" field was "Pa" not "PA." (Therefore, the cert did not "match.") The message given, while technically correct in terms of describing the outcome of the connection attempt, gave no useful diagnostic information to any of us that would point to what was actually wrong ... not to the party trying to connect, and not to the back-end folks who were entitled to know details. There are a lot of :doh: "WTFs" like that in this territory (regardless of implementation).