One of the most notable characteristics of VPNs based on PPTP (Point-to-Point tunneling protocol) is that they use switched telephone lines and the Internet as a means of transport for transfers between remote clients and servers located on private networks. PPTP is an extension of PPP, with significant improvements in authentication and encryption protocols, that supports flow control and multi-protocol tunneling on IP. As this protocol operates in the data link layer of the OSI model, once a PPTP session is established, encrypted IPX, IP or AppleTalk frames can be transferred. It uses encryption keys generated by MS-CHAP, MS-CHAP version 2 or EAP-TLS authentication protocols. In addition, as it is a data link layer protocol, there are no conflicts with NAT (Network Address Translation) in corporate firewalls as is the case with IPSec.
Panda GateDefender Integra only lets you create and modify PPTP VPNs in server mode given the limitations of the implementation of the PPTP protocol.
Instructions for configuring PPTP VPNs
Go to the Panda GateDefender Integra administration console.
Click on VPN in the panel on the left.
Then select VPN management, and then PPTP VPN management.
In PPTP, you will find the parameters required to configure a VPN in Panda GateDefender Integra using the PPTP protocol:
Name: Descriptive name of the VPN.
Enabled: Use the checkbox to enable or disable the VPN.
IP group: List displaying the IP address groups created. Here you can select the range of IP addresses associated to this VPN. Click on the link Address settings to access the IP address settings screen.
Users: List displaying the user groups created. Here you can select the user group with access to the VPN. Click on the link User settings to access the user settings screen.
You also have the option of including the IP addresses of the DNS and WINS servers Click on the link Address settings to access the IP address settings screen.
By clicking on the icon associated with the DNS and WINS options you can change the text field for a drop-down menu and choose the value to assign to each option. Click on OK to save the changes. Otherwise, click on Cancel.
NOTE: In the case of a PPTP VPN, it is essential to define the rules in the firewall in order to allow the flow of control packets to TCP port 1723, as well as the packets with the data (protocol IP 47 GRE Generic Routing Encapsulation). If using the Panda GateDefender Integra firewall, the rules will be defined automatically.