ADSL router that supports PPTP

armatage · 6 May 2008 at 12:05

I'm after an ADSL router that supports PPTP so that I can connect to the VPN using the build in Microsoft software. I'm currently thinking about a DKT-810 but are there any other routers that can do this?

I currently have a Netgear DG834 and the only was I can find to create a VPN is to use the Netgear VPN client which they charge for.

Cheers

tbz_ck · 6 May 2008 at 13:48

armatage said:
I'm after an ADSL router that supports PPTP so that I can connect to the VPN using the build in Microsoft software. I'm currently thinking about a DKT-810 but are there any other routers that can do this?

I currently have a Netgear DG834 and the only was I can find to create a VPN is to use the Netgear VPN client which they charge for.

Cheers

Are you after a router that terminates VPN connections or are you after a PPTP passthrough (to a dedicated PPTP server)?

If its the former, then Billion or Draytek do good VPN routers

If its the latter then most modern routers support PPTP passthrough.

growse · 6 May 2008 at 15:57

PPTP is pretty broken - http://www.schneier.com/pptp-faq.html. I wouldn't use it.

I'd say look at using IPSec or OpenVPN as well. I'm not aware of any routers that support the termination of OpenVPN, but I know some of the more business class (Cisco, Draytek) can terminate IPSec VPNs. It's usually cheaper to stick an old cheap box behind it as a VPN terminator and pass through the router - that way you can usually stick with your existing router.

armatage · 6 May 2008 at 15:58

Idealy I'd like the vpn to terminate at the router, can this be done without using a vpn client and just using the software built into XP/Vista?

growse · 6 May 2008 at 16:08

I've just seen that you can terminate openvpn on the openwrt and dd-wrt firmwares. These sit happily on routers like the Linksys WRT56GL as well as some others:

http://openwrt.org/

http://www.dd-wrt.com

To my knowledge, you can't do anything sensible with the built-in VPN software on XP (don't know about Vista). You might be able to do IPSec but I've never been able to get it working. OpenVPN has a small client you have to install that sits in your tray (http://openvpn.se/), but it's relatively easy to setup and configure.

OTOH, feel free to use PPTP. Just be aware that you're not really buying yourself much. Most people do a VPN to gain security, and there's not much point implementing something that isn't secure to do that.

m_cozzy · 6 May 2008 at 21:32

Cisco 837 or similar will do this.

Second hand they are going for less than £50 now.

tbz_ck · 7 May 2008 at 19:05

Out of interest why a VPN? If its for remote access then something like Log Me In is far easier to live with (or the Log me in Hamachi module).

Snapshot · 8 May 2008 at 08:07

armatage said:
Idealy I'd like the vpn to terminate at the router, can this be done without using a vpn client and just using the software built into XP/Vista?

This is trivial with a Draytek router and normal XP. You just set up a VPN ID on the destination router and a matching VPN entry in Network Connections in XP (Vista may be similar but I don't know). Obviously (I hope) the destination must have a fixed IP address. I use this regularly to access my clients - once I've connected to the router I use Remote Desktop (or PCA if I have to) to access the servers.