Before you start
Objectives: Learn how to create VPN connection in Windows 7.
Prerequisites: you have to know what is VPN in general.
Key terms: VPN, connection, Windows 7
Creating VPN Connection
We can create a VPN connection in Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel. Here we can select the “Set up a new connection or network option”.
Set Up a Connection
On the next screen we have to select the “Connect to a workplace” option.
Connect to a Workplace
On the next screen we will select the “Use my Internet connection (VPN)”.
How to Connect
On the next screen we have to enter the IP address of the VPN server (or the host name which points to that IP address). Here we can also choose the name of the connection, and if we want to use a smart cart to authenticate, if we want to allow other people to use this connection.
IP Address
On the next screen we have to enter our credentials.
Credentials
If everything was entered correctly, we should be able to connect to the VPN server now. When we do that, we will be able to access resources on the remote network.
We can always change properties of our VPN connection. To do that, simply right click it and select the Properties option.
Properties
On the General tab we can change the host name or IP address.
General Tab
On the Options tab we can set dialing options, as well as redialing options (rediail attempts, etc.). On the Security tab we can select the type of VPN and data encryption options.
Security Tab
If we use IKEv2, our system will have the ability to reconnect automatically. However, if we select the Automatic type, the strongest available type of VPN will be used. On the Networking tab we can choose the version of IP protocol that is to be used (IPv4 or IPv6), and if we’ll allow file and printer sharing over the VPN connection. On the Sharing tab we can specify if we want to allow other users to connect trough this connection. So, we can use Internet Connection Sharing feature to share a VPN connection.