Connect to Uni VPN

Hey guys, this is my first post
I got an AA1 (running Linpus Lite & Firefox 3) for Uni and can't connect to the campus network. Obviously there's windows & mac installers but no info on linux!

It's a wired VPN,and I know the IP & the proxy settings needed. There was a connection package to install which I had to open with WINE, but whenever I ran this it would say that I wasn't connected to the network (even though the network connections manager recognised the wired connection).

I've tried a couple of things in the terminal (openvpn etc.) and looked around a few forums, but as this is my first Linux computer, I'm a little lost.

Sorry if this isn't enough information - ask and I'll add anything else you think might be relevant.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

Do you know if it is a Cisco or Microsoft or etc... VPN? Or do they have a how-to web page that the general public can access so some of us could read to try to figure out what kind of VPN it is?

 

Thanks
There is a page that loads automatically once the network cable is plugged in, so the nearest I could get is this: http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/itsupport/connectPC/ResNet.php I'm fairly convinced it's a Microsoft VPN.
Hope it helps

 

Well taking a look at the "movie" they have for installation I see two things:
1) When it shows the web page where you can download the client there is a bit at the bottom that states Linux users should bring their computer to the Information Center. The page cuts off after that.
2) Where they are about to click on "Install CampusNet to..." I see mention of a product called "VPNGuard". A quick search on that brings me to this page:
http://www.opswat.com/vpnguard.shtml
Looks like they are trying to enforce that Windows users have software to keep their computers relatively clean. Anyway, it says that it integrates with both Microsoft and Cisco VPN.

So you might want to check out that install page and see if they still mention how to get Linux support and follow that. If they can at least give you the VPN type and the information needed (name, server to connect to, any specific encryption options, etc) we might be able to help you further if they can't.

 

So, the "support" turned out to be two helpsheets - there are no linux experts in the IT support. The first connects through emacs and says:

Set up your pcmcica to use DCHP for getting an IP

Code:

emacs /etc/network/interfaces
iface eth0 inet dchp
emacs /etc/pcmia/network.ops
BOOTP="n"
DCHP="y"
ifdown eth0
ifup eth0

Needless to say, I couldn't get this to work. The second simply walks you through a VPN wizard - which the aspire one hasn't got (as far as I know).

The IP's 192.168.012.254 and the WINS server address is 139.153.012.077. Host name is given as extvpn.stir.ac.uk and the HTTP proxy's wwwcache.stir.ac.uk at port 8080.

Hope it helps - there may be a couple of things I've overlooked so just let us know.

 

The first is just how to set your wired network card to use DHCP (e.g. automatically get an IP address). The AA1 can do that out of the box. However, a little googling for the university domain name + linux came up with this page:
http://www.skybert.nu/cgi-bin/viewpage.py.cgi?computers+linux+stirling_for_linux_users

Note the link to the page "... howto connect to a Microsoft VPN from Linux" under the "Getting Online" section. So, look for the other posts here about getting PPTP to work. The config files the page shows will give you an idea of what to plug in.

Don't forget to configure Firefox to use the HTTP proxy information given. Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Network tab -> Connection Settings button.

I'm not completely familiar with your area, but this looks like it might be a mailing list for a Linux User's Group (LUG) that could be close to you - https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/falkirk. Local LUGs are usually a pretty good place to get hands-on help.

 

Excellent, thanks.