Is PPTP better at traversing NAT etc then IpSec VPN client software?

When I use a WinXP laptop to connect to a client's Windows network it seems
to connect easily using the Windows PPTP. Doesn't stay connected for more
than a few hours but at least it connects ok.

I am trying to get Netgear's VPN client software to connect to a VPN router
from behind a router which has VPN pass-through.

However, this has not worked yet - it will connect if using a
mobile/bluetooth to connect to the internet - but not if is behind aNAT
router.

Is this what is expected?

I was hoping that the VPN client software would mean that the user's roaming
laptops could connect securely via a tunnel to the client's VPN router from
anywhere in the world where they could get internet access.

Kevin

kevin bailey <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I am trying to get Netgear's VPN client software to connect to a VPN router
> from behind a router which has VPN pass-through.

> However, this has not worked [...] if is behind aNAT router.
> Is this what is expected?

I can't speak for Netgear's VPN software or for MS PPTP. However,
in general I would expect VPN traffic to traverse a NAT router. For
example, my CISCO client works fine from home behind a VPN-savvy NAT
router. OpenVPN also works well if you're able to provide a (software)
termination point at the remote end.

Chris

"Chris Davies" <chris-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:v7l7t3-(E-Mail Removed)...
> kevin bailey <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > I am trying to get Netgear's VPN client software to connect to a VPN
router
> > from behind a router which has VPN pass-through.
>
> > However, this has not worked [...] if is behind aNAT router.
> > Is this what is expected?
>
> I can't speak for Netgear's VPN software or for MS PPTP. However,
> in general I would expect VPN traffic to traverse a NAT router. For
> example, my CISCO client works fine from home behind a VPN-savvy NAT
> router. OpenVPN also works well if you're able to provide a (software)
> termination point at the remote end.

VPN aware comes in lots of flavours - with the default being basically not a
lot.

If the Cisco client is using UDP or TCP encapsulation it should work thru a
firewall, even if it is doesnt understnad "VPNs" - that is what the
encapsulation is for.

However - UDP doesnt actually involve having a session, and some firewalls
object, or time out if the link is idle for more than a few sec.

1 issue with UDP encapsulation is that with somefirewalls only 1 client can
have an active session thru a specific firewall at a time - TCP doesnt
normally have this as an issue, but TCP encap tends to be slower, esp if the
link has a high loss rate or latency.

The Cisco VPN client in TCP mode should go thru any firewall where the
relevant TCP port is open.
>
> Chris
--
Regards

(E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl