V. VPN (Virtual Private Networking)

The DrayTek routers that support Dial-In VPN connections can use any compatible VPN client to connect a remote dial-in user VPN to achieve secured access to the network connected to the router and its internet connection.

The DrayTek Smart VPN Client software is free for use and can use all protocols that the DrayTek routers currently support such as PPTP, IPsec, L2TP over IPsec and SSL VPN protocols (depending on router model).

In this example, the Smart VPN Client will be used to make a PPTP VPN connection to a DrayTek router. This is the Point To Point Protocol that will use MPPE (Microsoft Point to Point Encryption) which allows for username and passwords for each VPN account.

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Router Configuration

The PPTP VPN server is enabled on the router by default, this can be controlled from the [VPN and Remote Access] > [Remote Access Control].

To set up the VPN profile on the router, go to [User Management] > [User Profile], click Add in the User Profile tab to create a new user profile:

• Enable the profile,
• Enter a suitable Username, please note that this cannot be changed after creating the user account
• Set the Password
• Click on the PPTP/L2TP/SSL Server bar to expand the VPN options for the profile
• Enable PPTP Dial-In

Click Apply to save the changes to that profile. The router is now ready to accept client PPTP VPN connections with those credentials.

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Client Configuration

Open the DrayTek Smart VPN Client utility in Windows:

In the DrayTek Smart VPN Client software, click the Insert button to make a new profile, which will open a new window:

In the new profile, set the Profile Name if necessary. In this example, the type of VPN is PPTP, the address or host name of the VPN server needs to be specified in the VPN Server IP/Host Name field and the Username that will be used in the VPN profile should be set in the User Name field, enter the password for the VPN in the Password field.

The Use default gateway on remote network setting is used to set whether all traffic including internet traffic will go through the VPN, if it is ticked, all traffic will go through the VPN, if it is unticked, the VPN will only be used for accessing the remote network.

Click OK to save that and a window for PPTP Setup will appear:

Set the Authentication Method to MS-CHAP v2 and the MPPE Encryption to Maximum Strength Encryption. Set the IP address if it needs to be set, otherwise leave it set to automatically receive its IP address, then click OK to save those settings.

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It is now possible to connect the VPN, select the profile from the list on the main window and click the Connect button:

That will pop-up a window to enter the User Name and Password settings, the username and password were configured in the profile so should already be configured:

Click OK and the VPN will start to connect.

Once the VPN is connected, the main window will show the status of this at the bottom of the window. It will also show the status in the computer's System Tray, which can be used to disconnect the VPN if necessary.

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