Vpnc

vpnc is a VPN client for Cisco hardware VPNs.

Installation

vpnc is in the repositories and can be installed with the vpnc package.

Configuration

vpnc can be configured either on the command line or through its configuration file. The configuration files are stored in /etc/vpnc, with a template at /etc/vpnc/default.conf.

Copy the template file to /etc/vpnc/vpnc.conf and edit it to your preferences. A sensible configuration might look like:

IPSec gateway <gateway>
IPSec ID <group-id>
IPSec secret <group-psk>
IKE Authmode <authmode>
Xauth username <username>
Xauth password <password>
Domain <domain>

Debugging can be enabled at different levels by appending Debug x for some debug level x of 0 (default, does not print), 1 (minimal), 2 (verbose), 3 (everything except authentication data), or 99 (everything including authentication data).

You can run the VPN with

# vpnc /etc/vpnc/vpnc.conf

and test that it's working with

# ip a

You should see a new tunnel device (e.g. tun0).

You can now enable the service, and start it at boot if you require:

# killall vpnc
# rc-service vpnc start
# rc-update add vpnc boot

NetworkManager

There exists a NetworkManager vpnc plugin. Future work will consider packaging this tool for the repositories and continuing this guide to document the process.