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VPN Setup - IPSecuritas Configuration
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The following steps have worked reliably for me to configure both a host-to-network and a network-to-network VPN connection between a laptop running Mac OS X 10.3.3 and a LinkSys BEFSX41 running firmware version 1.44.7 dated Jan 09, 2003. The following screenshots detail the Mac-side setup using IPSecuritas version 2.0.5. There is another page that details the corresponding LinkSys BEFSX41 setup.
Where applicable, clicking on the graphics below will traverse to the corresponding LinkSys BEFSX41 configuration section.
If you have additional information or comments let me know and I'll update this information, as appropriate. FYI, the IP addresses in the following screenshots have been altered for security reasons.
The following graphics detail the General settings I use for host-to-network and network-to-network connections, respectively. Since I'm normally using the VPN capability while travelling, I find it useful to specify the "Local Address:" entry for a host-to-network connection. I use it in conjunction with an alias IP address on the Mac so that I can "normalize" my local side of things. This may or may not be useful, depending upon your mode(s) of operation. Connections appear to work equally well with or without the "Local Address:" entry.
I've only used the "Preshared Secret" approach to security. Obviously it is important that the "Preshared Secret" entry be the same as the one entered for the "Pre-shared Key:" via the LinkSys unit's VPN page.
The following graphics show the settings I use for the phase 1 and 2 negotiations. Note that there are performance implications for different settings, especially on the LinkSys side. Prior to putting our first pair of LinkSys units into service, I ran some LinkSys VPN performance measurements to determine which settings I would use.
According to the LinkSys unit's IPSec Advanced Setting page, it also proposes DES/MD5/768, 3DES/SHA/1024 and 3DES/MD5/1024 in Main mode. Therefore, it should also be valid to use any of these combinations, but I've not tried any others.
For different setups additional options may be applicable. In particular, if your system will always be connected via the VPN, you might want to turn on the "Auto Start" option so the system is connected as soon as possible after bootup.
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