How to configure VPN Server with single NIC on Windows Server

'Routing and Remote Access' service that is available as part of Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Longhorn server can be configured as a VPN Server with single Network Interface Card (NIC). This configuration is primarily used when there is a Network Address Translator (NAT) (or Firewall) machine sitting on the edge and the VPN server is part of the internal network.

For configuring 'Routing and Remote Access' service with single NIC, the administrator should choose the 'Custom Configuration' in the Configuration Wizard (Note that the other options would expect a minimum of 2 NICs to be availabe on the server). Other configuration parameters like authentication methods, static address pool, etc., can be set by right-clicking on the server name in the 'Routing and Remote Access' MMC console and selecting Properties.

If the configuration has a NAT router, the administrator needs to set the port forwarding on the NAT router.

Check www.microsoft.comvpn for more information on VPN support in Windows.

-Srivatsan Kidambi

Development Lead
Routing and Remote Access Team,

Windows Enterprise Networking

[This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.]