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Trouble with VPN Connection

I have been having connection issues with my VPN connection to my workplace since I changed over to FIOS service. I have FIOS Internet TV and Phone service. I have the Actiontec router running version D under the 10.7 firmware. I am unable to update the firmware as I recieve an error message stating the hardware does not support the update.

I have called Verizon Tech Support numerous times and am basically told that Verizon does not support VPN "software" but I have seen forums that state otherwise and say this is basically a router configuration issue but I can't get to anyone who can tell me how to reconfigure the router.

I can establish the VPN connection, but no data is ever transferred and I cannot access any network drives.

I was told at one point there is an Expert Care division at Verizon but nobody at Verizon seems to know about them if they do exist.

I really need to get my VPN working again. Any suggestions?

Comments

iheartfios123

Hi, regular tech support doesn't deal with setting configuration in the router, but I had a port forwarding issue and they were able to get actiontec support on the line to assist. Hope this helps.

Message Edited by iheartfios123 on 03-24-2009 04:44 PM

fios24

if you can establish a VPN connection but cannot access resources, the issue is how the vpn is router inside the vpn. once you made the connection to the vpn, the ISP is no longer involved at all other than to make sure packets get from point a to point b. how things are routed, network drives etc are all the responsibility of the IT department or VPN software vendor.

neojag

I told Tech Support I was trying to get to someone who could reconfigure the router and they never offered Actiontecs assistance. Is there a direct contact for them or do I have to go through Verizon.

I've talked to my IT department and they say it's a FIOS issue. I never had any connection issues until after FIOS was installed. My VPN connected fine and nothing at my workplace has been changed so it must be FIOS related.

iheartfios123

I think that Verizon has to contact them, my rep had to stay on the line with us.

fios24

@neojag wrote:
I told Tech Support I was trying to get to someone who could reconfigure the router and they never offered Actiontecs assistance. Is there a direct contact for them or do I have to go through Verizon.
I've talked to my IT department and they say it's a FIOS issue. I never had any connection issues until after FIOS was installed. My VPN connected fine and nothing at my workplace has been changed so it must be FIOS related.

it's not fios. you already said you are establishing a vpn connection. once that's done, fios job is done. any internal networking, and once you are on a vpn all networking / routing is internal is handled by the vpn server.

neojag

No, its definitely FIOS or the FIOS Actiontec router. I can connect to any other internet connection and VPN without issues. The only thing that has changed is I switched to FIOS.

I've seen other posts where people have the same issue and the constant is, they just switched to FIOS.

prisaz

@neojag wrote:
I have been having connection issues with my VPN connection to my workplace since I changed over to FIOS service. I have FIOS Internet TV and Phone service. I have the Actiontec router running version D under the 10.7 firmware. I am unable to update the firmware as I recieve an error message stating the hardware does not support the update.
I have called Verizon Tech Support numerous times and am basically told that Verizon does not support VPN "software" but I have seen forums that state otherwise and say this is basically a router configuration issue but I can't get to anyone who can tell me how to reconfigure the router.
I can establish the VPN connection, but no data is ever transferred and I cannot access any network drives.
I was told at one point there is an Expert Care division at Verizon but nobody at Verizon seems to know about them if they do exist.
I really need to get my VPN working again. Any suggestions?

Expert Care I believe is an added computer support option you must pay extra for.

Try to log into your router and see if it works if you place that computers IP in the DMZ. If it does then it is a router firewall issue, and not a fios issue.

Under Firewall settings you can enter DMZ HOST IP. The selection for DMZ HOST is under the Firewall Menu and on the side bar. To find the IP of your computer you can type ipconfig at a comand prompt. If you use this method, you may want to set your PC to a static IP address. I have heard that placing the computer IP in as DMZ host solves this in certain VPN configurations. I prefer not to place the PC as a DMZ host but to figure what is being blocked for a long term fix. But this will tell you if it is a router issue.

neojag

I tried setting my computer as the DMZ host IP but that didn't seem to work. I'm still encountering the same issues with the VPN connection.

cjacobs001

What is it, exactly, that you think the router is doing, or not doing? You ARE getting out to the internet to anywhere you want to visit, including to your works' VPN [server]. [ you get out to, and you receive, web sites, etc. ] You say that you cannot access your network drives at work through your works' VPN [server]. is it that you think the Verizon router is not [serving] you that access ? Please explain a little more.

Do you know how a VPN works [ through ] an otherwise normal router? have you or your works' IT people looked at portforward.com ? A well-designed VPN uses several methods for keeping your connection and data secure:

Firewalls
Encryption
IPSec

cjacobs001

oops! I wasn't finished . . but those methods listed are all on the VPN server, not on your router.

neojag

It seems to me that the router is somehow blocking the data from being sent between myself and my work network. I can establish a VPN connection, but that status window shows little to no data being transferred. and I cannot access any netork drives.

When I first encountered this issue, my first call was to my IT department. They looked at my computer and accessed my network and router at home and they could not find the cause of the problem. I went to various other locations and attempted to establish a connection and have been successful in every other location I have tried, except for my home.

I previously had Verizon DSL and never had an issue with my VPN. The ONLY thing that has changed is that I now have FIOS with a new router.

I had read in other posts that there are similiar cases out there like this. One person was told to upgrade their firmware which I can not do because I recieve error messages. Another was told that the VPN doesn't like the coax connection to the router and they should run an ethernet connection. They did that and had no luck. Others were told that they needed a secondary router becuase the Actiontec router wouldn't allow a VPN connection. In this post, a Verizon representative finally stated that it does appear that the router is the cause of the issue and they were going to see if they could get the issue resolved, but I have never seen any more correspondences.

I myself have not been to portforward.com but would be willing to try anything.

DzWR

Once again, if the connection is established on the VPN then it is working. The only thing that I could possibly suggest is dropping the router's firewall settings to a lower level. If my memory serves me correctly a VPN should be able to override the Actiontec's firewall settings, but if it isn't setup correctly on your VPN's side then it might not be the case.

I would say try to see what happens dropping your Actiontec's firewall to minimum to allow inbound and outbound. Honestly, besides that, everything is working as it should through your home connection.

prisaz

One more idea. I have heard that some users with VPN will not work with 192.168.x.x subnet due to some VPN restrictions on the network they are connecting to or perhaps a conflict. One user changed the router address and network subnet to 10.0.1.x or something on the 10.x.x.x subnet. It could be the network you are connecting to uses the same private IP subnet, and there is a routing conflict. Just another idea.

Message Edited by prisaz on 03-28-2009 06:10 PM

neojag

I tried lowering the firewall setting and that didn't work.

Also, I was thinking about the comment about the subnet settings but I really don't think there is any conflict with the network I am connecting to.

Nothing has changed on this network and I can connect to it through VPN through multiple offsite locations.

I'm willing to give it a shot though. How exactly would I make this change? Once I change this, will my router access ip change?

fios24

@neojag wrote:
It seems to me that the router is somehow blocking the data from being sent between myself and my work network. I can establish a VPN connection, but that status window shows little to no data being transferred. and I cannot access any netork drives.
When I first encountered this issue, my first call was to my IT department. They looked at my computer and accessed my network and router at home and they could not find the cause of the problem. I went to various other locations and attempted to establish a connection and have been successful in every other location I have tried, except for my home.
I previously had Verizon DSL and never had an issue with my VPN. The ONLY thing that has changed is that I now have FIOS with a new router.
I had read in other posts that there are similiar cases out there like this. One person was told to upgrade their firmware which I can not do because I recieve error messages. Another was told that the VPN doesn't like the coax connection to the router and they should run an ethernet connection. They did that and had no luck. Others were told that they needed a secondary router becuase the Actiontec router wouldn't allow a VPN connection. In this post, a Verizon representative finally stated that it does appear that the router is the cause of the issue and they were going to see if they could get the issue resolved, but I have never seen any more correspondences.
I myself have not been to portforward.com but would be willing to try anything.

all right, i wasn't going to get more involved in this discussion, but here's the thing, i did vpn deployments for 10 years. i've setup vpn's in many many different enviroments and you know what, when the client end side has INTERNET access, i have never questioned the ISP and i have ALWAYS managed a resolution without getting the ISP involved, do you know why? because the ISP only provides an INTERNET connection and any valid VPN client side software will work with any working internet connection and the really good ones will get thru most firewalls and routers without making any changes to the router. the most likely issue here based on what i see is, your home router has a 192.168.1.x ip addressing scheme and your router at work has the same scheme, 192.168.1.x that 1 in the third set there cannot be the same. hence it worked with your other router because your other router was probably set to 192.168.0.x scheme. only reason i didn't post this before is because i assumed this is the first thing your IT dept checked but i'm beginning to suspect they didn't do any work at all.

if you continue to have issues, the next place to approach is the vendor that provided the equipment. as long as an internet connection is working your vpn client should work. if it doesn't it is an issue with configuration of your vpn client. i'm not qualified to speak beyond that because the number and methods of vpn clients on the market are many and my expertise is really only with 3 or 4 different methods.

neojag

I actually went ahead and emailed support at the Actiontec site and this is they state that when a coax connection from the Motorola 612 ONT is used, the Verizon modem is fragmenting the VPN packets. They state that a replacement modem is necessary or at least an ethernet connection from the ONT should be used.

Seems to make sense, but it is also a similiar solution as to what Techman28 states in the forum referenced by prisaz but the final solution in this forum still entails a secondary router. This also points the problem to the Verizon modem, not the router.

I will try adjusting the router addressing scheme tonight and see if I have any luck.

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