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Deploying VPN Connections by Using PowerShell and Group Policy

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

Most organizations support some form of remote access to enable their users to access network resources when they are away from the network. Virtual private networking (VPN) over the Internet or dial-up connections can be used to provide almost the same access as when users are physically connected at the office.

After you have configured a VPN or dial-up server on your network periphery, you must deploy settings to your client computers that enable them to establish VPN connections to the server with minimal user interaction. The most common types of failures of VPN connections are due to improperly configuring the connection settings on the client computer. The user might configure an invalid VPN tunnel type, the wrong authentication type, the wrong phone number, and so forth. The configuration of the remote access server setup is typically maintained by a network administrator. Users are not usually aware of the details of the configuration, and thus are unlikely to configure a connection correctly on their own. Even if the administrator supplies clear, easy-to-follow directions to users, manually configuring the VPN settings can lead to excessive support calls to your help desk.

This guide provides a solution that enables an administrator to configure and deploy VPN connections to client computers that are ready to use, with no need for the user to configure any details.

Note

This guide discusses one technique that can be used. Its primary purpose is to illustrate how a remote access connection can be created programmatically. Another technique often used is to use the Connection Manager Administration Kit (CMAK) to create a Connection Manager profile that can be deployed to your clients. For more information about CMAK, see Connection Manager Administration Kit (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=55986) in the Windows Server Technical Library.

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