Creating a PPTP VPN connection in Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid)
Update June 22, 2010
The configuration described below is still valid up to the most recent Ubuntu release (10.04) !
Update December 8, 2008
The following solution does not work for everybody as there are multiple issues with VPN connections, the network manager etc. Bug fixing is in progress and it appears a number of patches where already included in recent ubuntu updates.
I recommend checking the ubuntu bug database for the latest state of the VPN issues:
This monday was sweet. I finally had the time to make a fresh install of ubuntu 8.10 on my thinkpad r52, and what can i say, just as all the other releases before, things got better.
I am especially happy about the re-programmed network manager, which works a whole lot better than in hardy.
Except that i didn’t get the PPTP VPN connection to my office to work instantly.
Turns out there is some kind of problem that prevents the network manager from obtaining the configured password, resulting in the error message:
The vpn connection X failed because there were no valid VPN secrets.
Furthermore, point-to-point encryption is not enabled by default any more. Here is how i got it to work:
1: Prerequisites: Install the required packages
If you don’t have pptp VPN support for network manager yet, install it…
sudo apt-get install network-manager-pptp
… and configure your VPN connection using the network manager.
2: Clear the password field in the vpn settings dialog
This should make the manager prompt you for the password.
3: Enable point-to-point encryption on the “Advanced” settings page
This should do! Now the PPTP settings should be about the same they where in hardy.
If you still experience problems, you might want to check the syslog for messages from the network manager, like so:
tail -f /var/log/syslog
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 12:43. Posted in: System engineering, intrepid, ubuntu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Works like a charm! Thanks for saving a lot of time for me.
/ha
Hi, i’ve followed your doc but i cannot have the vpn to my office working, what have i missed ?
I’m on an 8.10 desktop installation and trying to conect to a Microsoft VPN on windows 2003 server.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks very much! It worked!!
@Dario
Hi there, you might want to look at the launchpad discussion for this problem:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+question/48681
If this does not help, open a shell, type in
tail -f /var/log/syslog
and try to establish the VPN connection. I suggest you post the resulting log output to the launchpad discussion above, or here, so i can take a look.
Greets,
Olaf
I followed your guide an I got the VPN connection displayed in the network notification area, but when I click it to open the connection dialog it just don’t appear, any suggestion?
Hi Olman,
If i understand correct, you are not being asked to enter a password fr the VPN connection when you attempt to establish it? In this case, please post the log contents as described in the previous comment. Did you try any of the solutions posted in the launchpad discussion linked above beforehand?
Regards,
Olaf
Hi Sir
I have a stupid question for you . How do you start the application from which you are taking the screen shoots above
I am trying to stat the configured VPN connection by R/Click on the network icon and then running the defined VPN connection ,
In the /var/log/deamon.log i do get
nm_vpn_manager_activate_vpn_connection: no currently active device, won’t activate VPN
Might be that i miss some configuration which can be done via the above application ??
Thank you very much for your help
Yoav
Hi Yoav,
you can reach the VPN connection configuration by left-clicking on the network icon and choosing “VPN Connections” > “Configure VPN”
The log message you are refering to suggests that you try to connect to a VPN while not being connected to any network (wireless or cabled).
Regards,
Olaf
Olaf, do you know if there is a bug with VPN (PPTP in my case) connections in the 64-bit release of Ubuntu 8.10?
I have tried your guide without success. And as I can read here it might be some bugs somewhere:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=980994
I too have followed your instructions scrupulously without success.
I have un and re installed the network manager several times, including the “fixed” one from a forum by Dan Williams.
I’ve done configure gnome and all the other variants of vpn config and nm config.
Is there no effort by ubuntu to fix this serious problem; many of us are out here waiting to get back to our vpn’s; time is a’wasting!
@Tuneld
Yes, you distribution is also affected by the same problems as the 32-bit version.
@Tor Fosnaes
The VPN issues are indeed serious and appear to be treated with high priority by the ubuntu developers.
@All
The VPN problems consist of more than one bug and fixing is in progress. It appears at least one bugfix for the PPTP VPN issues was released on Thursday, December 4.
If you search for the VPN issues at launchpad you will see that the most important bugs are already assigned and worked at with the high priority.
It appears that the missing password dialogue issue has been fixed by now:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager-openvpn/+bug/284212.
It’s well worth to check if there are VPN-related fixes when updating the system. I would also recommend subscribing to the VPN issues to be notified when there are any changes.
Best,
Olaf
After a few days on and off trying to get connected to my VPN, the following steps worked for me:
- username should be user@domain (domain\user *didnt* work for me)
- nt domain field left empty
- disable pap + chap, and enable MPPE
- everything else default
Hope that helps someone
I had a similar problem.
I solved it by unchecking the “system setting” checkbox. That might help someone.
WTF? So the connection is set up in network manager, but how do I actually start the damn thing! There doesn’t seem to be an option to actually make the connection. If I left click on network-manager in the tray, I only get an option to “Configure VPN”, and a greyed out option for my new connection
Hi MQ,
This might be a problem with your network configuration – the VPN connections usually become “activatable” as soon as you have a working network connection, for example a wireless network connection. Does anyone else have a hint?
@Jonatan
Same here, unchecking “system setting” fixed it ;o). With username and domain in their respective fields (not domain/username or username@domain). In the advanced options, I have unchecked PAP & CHAP, while I’ve checked MPPE.
@MQ
First thing to do is to make sure you’ve installed (from synaptic package manager) one of the packages (depending on the VPN flavour you use)
network-manager-vpnc
network-manager-pptp
network-manager-openvpn
If you don’t have one of them installed, your “configure VPN” will remain greyed. Hope this helps.
Hi,
I have installed “network-manager-pptp” for connecting my office VPN in my ubuntu 8.10. After confuguring the PPTP VPN client, I tried to connect it. But it was failed. I have tried a lot of options for connecting the same but no use.
Please find the contents generated in syslog during this attempt and help me know in this regard.
Mar 2 13:07:15 test NetworkManager: Starting VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’…
Mar 2 13:07:15 test NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ started (org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp), PID 9303
Mar 2 13:07:15 test NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ just appeared, activating connections
Mar 2 13:07:15 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 1
Mar 2 13:07:28 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 3
Mar 2 13:07:28 test NetworkManager: VPN connection ‘VPN connection 1′ (Connect) reply received.
Mar 2 13:07:28 test pppd[9306]: Plugin /usr/lib/pppd/2.4.4/nm-pptp-pppd-plugin.so loaded.
Mar 2 13:07:28 test pppd[9306]: pppd 2.4.4 started by root, uid 0
Mar 2 13:07:28 test pppd[9306]: Using interface ppp0
Mar 2 13:07:28 test pppd[9306]: Connect: ppp0 /dev/pts/1
Mar 2 13:07:28 test pptp[9308]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[main:pptp.c:314]: The synchronous pptp option is NOT activated
Mar 2 13:07:29 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 1 ‘Start-Control-Connection-Request’
Mar 2 13:07:29 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:739]: Received Start Control Connection Reply
Mar 2 13:07:29 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:773]: Client connection established.
Mar 2 13:07:30 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 7 ‘Outgoing-Call-Request’
Mar 2 13:07:30 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:858]: Received Outgoing Call Reply.
Mar 2 13:07:30 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:897]: Outgoing call established (call ID 0, peer’s call ID 1187).
Mar 2 13:07:30 test pptp[9308]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[decaps_gre:pptp_gre.c:405]: discarding duplicate or old packet 0 (expecting 2)
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:950]: PPTP_SET_LINK_INFO received from peer_callid 0
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:953]: send_accm is 00000000, recv_accm is FFFFFFFF
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 warn[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:956]: Non-zero Async Control Character Maps are not supported!
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9308]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[decaps_gre:pptp_gre.c:414]: buffering packet 7 (expecting 6, lost or reordered)
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:950]: PPTP_SET_LINK_INFO received from peer_callid 0
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pppd[9306]: EAP: peer reports authentication failure
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:953]: send_accm is FFFFFFFF, recv_accm is FFFFFFFF
Mar 2 13:07:33 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 warn[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:956]: Non-zero Async Control Character Maps are not supported!
Mar 2 13:07:34 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:912]: Received Call Clear Request.
Mar 2 13:07:39 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin failed: 1
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pppd[9306]: Connection terminated.
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pppd[9306]: Modem hangup
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pptp[9308]: nm-pptp-service-9303 warn[decaps_hdlc:pptp_gre.c:204]: short read (-1): Input/output error
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pptp[9308]: nm-pptp-service-9303 warn[decaps_hdlc:pptp_gre.c:216]: pppd may have shutdown, see pppd log
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[callmgr_main:pptp_callmgr.c:234]: Closing connection (unhandled)
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 12 ‘Call-Clear-Request’
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pptp[9315]: nm-pptp-service-9303 log[call_callback:pptp_callmgr.c:79]: Closing connection (call state)
Mar 2 13:07:39 test pppd[9306]: Exit.
Mar 2 13:07:39 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin failed: 1
Mar 2 13:07:39 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 6
Mar 2 13:07:39 test NetworkManager: VPN plugin state change reason: 0
Mar 2 13:07:39 test NetworkManager: connection_state_changed(): Could not process the request because no VPN connection was active.
Mar 2 13:07:40 test NetworkManager: Policy set ‘LAN’ (eth1) as default for routing and DNS.
Mar 2 13:07:52 test NetworkManager: [1235979472.020096] ensure_killed(): waiting for vpn service pid 9303 to exit
Mar 2 13:07:52 test NetworkManager: [1235979472.020725] ensure_killed(): vpn service pid 9303 cleaned up
Thanks in advance
For me most of the settings worked :
Here is what will work with most standard SBS 2003 R2 setups using the PPTP option for connecting to VPN at the main site :
UN: (put your username in here as in use by your domain network)
PW : leave blank
Domain : Blank
Gateway : IP or Address of OWA or what have you to connect.
ADVANCED SETTINGS :
UNCHECK – PAP , CHAP
CHECK – MCHAP , MCHAPv2
and MPPE
Leave the rest alone.
Connect and voila working well.
THanks.
YESS,
It’s Also Worked in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic!
Thanks!!
Arvin
Hello,
I have tried all of the solutions listed above and none of them seems to work. This is what I get from the syslog:
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: Starting VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’…
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ started (org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp), PID 27629
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ just appeared, activating connections
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: nm-vpn-connection.c.828: NeedSecrets failed: dbus-glib-error-quark Rejected send message, 1 matched rules; type=”method_call”, sender=”:1.2″ (uid=0 pid=614 comm=”NetworkManager) interface=”org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.VPN.Plugin” member=”NeedSecrets” error name=”(unset)” requested_reply=0 destination=”org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp” (uid=0 pid=27629 comm=”/usr/lib/network-manager-pptp/nm-pptp-service))
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: connection_state_changed(): Rejected send message, 1 matched rules; type=”method_call”, sender=”:1.2″ (uid=0 pid=614 comm=”NetworkManager) interface=”org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.VPN.Plugin” member=”Disconnect” error name=”(unset)” requested_reply=0 destination=”org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp” (uid=0 pid=27629 comm=”/usr/lib/network-manager-pptp/nm-pptp-service))
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: Policy set ‘Auto Ratatoskr’ (eth1) as default for routing and DNS.
Dec 4 19:15:35 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: [1259972135.002279] ensure_killed(): waiting for vpn service pid 27629 to exit
Dec 4 19:15:35 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: [1259972135.002501] ensure_killed(): vpn service pid 27629 cleaned up
Thanks.
Eep… forgot to mention that I am currently running the 9.10 netbook remix.
Hi Danielle,
Ahh, the “wonderful” VPN issues (in every release… I really hope this stablizes…)
However, your solution might be really simple:
Try manually restarting the network manager service like so:
sudo /etc/init.d/network-manager restart
This helped in my case. However, the relevant error message seems to be:
Dec 4 19:15:22 Adarak-Prime NetworkManager: nm-vpn-connection.c.828: NeedSecrets failed: dbus-glib-error-quark Rejected send message, 1 matched rules; type=”method_call”, sender=”:1.2″ (uid=0 pid=614 comm=”NetworkManager)
i.e. the nework manager fails to retrieve your (saved?) password.
Hope this helps,
Olaf
Hi i too have problems with this vpn thing, have tried all the things above
get this tail
Dec 25 23:47:54 S12 NetworkManager: Starting VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’…
Dec 25 23:47:54 S12 NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ started (org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp), PID 2286
Dec 25 23:47:54 S12 NetworkManager: VPN service ‘org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.pptp’ just appeared, activating connections
Dec 25 23:47:54 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 1
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 3
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pppd[2289]: Plugin /usr/lib/pppd/2.4.5//nm-pptp-pppd-plugin.so loaded.
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 NetworkManager: VPN connection ‘MJ’ (Connect) reply received.
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pppd[2289]: pppd 2.4.5 started by root, uid 0
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pppd[2289]: Using interface ppp0
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pppd[2289]: Connect: ppp0 /dev/pts/1
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 NetworkManager: SCPlugin-Ifupdown: devices added (path: /sys/devices/virtual/net/ppp0, iface: ppp0)
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 NetworkManager: SCPlugin-Ifupdown: device added (path: /sys/devices/virtual/net/ppp0, iface: ppp0): no ifupdown configuration found.
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pptp[2291]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[main:pptp.c:314]: The synchronous pptp option is NOT activated
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 1 ‘Start-Control-Connection-Request’
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:739]: Received Start Control Connection Reply
Dec 25 23:47:55 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:773]: Client connection established.
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 7 ‘Outgoing-Call-Request’
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:858]: Received Outgoing Call Reply.
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:897]: Outgoing call established (call ID 0, peer’s call ID 256).
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:950]: PPTP_SET_LINK_INFO received from peer_callid 60025
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:953]: send_accm is 00000000, recv_accm is FFFFFFFF
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 warn[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:956]: Non-zero Async Control Character Maps are not supported!
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:950]: PPTP_SET_LINK_INFO received from peer_callid 60025
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:953]: send_accm is FFFFFFFF, recv_accm is FFFFFFFF
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 warn[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:956]: Non-zero Async Control Character Maps are not supported!
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pppd[2289]: LCP terminated by peer (nM-^]eM-D^@<M-Mt^@^@^BM-#011)
Dec 25 23:47:56 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_disp:pptp_ctrl.c:912]: Received Call Clear Request.
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pppd[2289]: Connection terminated.
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin failed: 1
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: SCPlugin-Ifupdown: devices removed (path: /sys/devices/virtual/net/ppp0, iface: ppp0)
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pppd[2289]: Modem hangup
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pptp[2291]: nm-pptp-service-2286 warn[decaps_hdlc:pptp_gre.c:204]: short read (-1): Input/output error
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pptp[2291]: nm-pptp-service-2286 warn[decaps_hdlc:pptp_gre.c:216]: pppd may have shutdown, see pppd log
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pppd[2289]: Exit.
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[callmgr_main:pptp_callmgr.c:234]: Closing connection (unhandled)
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[ctrlp_rep:pptp_ctrl.c:251]: Sent control packet type is 12 ‘Call-Clear-Request’
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 pptp[2297]: nm-pptp-service-2286 log[call_callback:pptp_callmgr.c:79]: Closing connection (call state)
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin failed: 1
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin state changed: 6
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: VPN plugin state change reason: 0
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: connection_state_changed(): Could not process the request because no VPN connection was active.
Dec 25 23:47:59 S12 NetworkManager: Policy set ‘Auto GCEyKU34′ (eth2) as default for routing and DNS.
Dec 25 23:48:12 S12 NetworkManager: [1261781292.003014] ensure_killed(): waiting for vpn service pid 2286 to exit
Dec 25 23:48:12 S12 NetworkManager: [1261781292.003284] ensure_killed(): vpn service pid 2286 cleaned up
can anyone see what can be wrong
Henry
Hi Henry,
I think the key line here is:
“LCP terminated by peer”, which means that the server you connected to explicitly closed the connection (LCP = Link Control Protocol).
Maybe you need to adjust a few more settings, perhaps this post helps: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1095546
Best,
Olaf
i disabled the EAP auth method then it worked – thx alot
so only chap – mschap – mschapv2 is enabled