RRAS demand dial interface

Hi, I've setup RRAS on a w2k3 sp2 (enterprise), and I'm using it (the
server) to connect to the internet and NAT my internal small network.
Now I've set it up using dozens of methods (wizard, manually). The
server has two NICs, one internal and one connected to the cable
modem. I've added a demand dial interface and set it up as persistent
with autoreconnect set at 2 minutes.

Now to the problem, sometimes the demand dial interface just doesn't
connect it show the status of connecting indefinitely. If I try to
right-click and connect it shows a dialog box saying connecting for a
very very long time with no results (not even an error). By sometimes
I mean actually that sometimes it does connect and works perfectly -
NAT is working, firewall (basic firewall + ipfilters) works and the
connection works, but then it disconnects and nothing I seem to do
helps it connect (restart, reboot the modem etc.).

Now, I'm pretty sure the problem isn't the ISP since I've defined a
normal dialer outside of RRAS and if RRAS isn't working I connect fine
using it but if RRAS was working and I stop the service and try to
connect manually it hangs trying to connect for about 20 seconds and
desplays the error 769 Destination Unreachable.

Sorry for the long post, hopefully I'm clear enough, please please
help.
Thanks.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Hi, I've setup RRAS on a w2k3 sp2 (enterprise), and I'm using it (the
> server) to connect to the internet and NAT my internal small network.
> Now I've set it up using dozens of methods (wizard, manually). The
> server has two NICs, one internal and one connected to the cable
> modem. I've added a demand dial interface and set it up as persistent
> with autoreconnect set at 2 minutes.

Get rid of the Deman Dial Interface. You are not "dailing" anything.
You are only supopsed to have two interfaces,...the DDI creates a third
interface.


--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

On Jul 23, 8:35 pm, "Phillip Windell" <philwind...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> <johnsol...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>
> > Hi, I've setup RRAS on a w2k3 sp2 (enterprise), and I'm using it (the
> > server) to connect to the internet and NAT my internal small network.
> > Now I've set it up using dozens of methods (wizard, manually). The
> > server has two NICs, one internal and one connected to the cable
> > modem. I've added a demand dial interface and set it up as persistent
> > with autoreconnect set at 2 minutes.
>
> Get rid of the Deman Dial Interface. You are not "dailing" anything.
> You are only supopsed to have two interfaces,...the DDI creates a third
> interface.

> --
> Phillip Windellwww.wandtv.com
Hi Phillip,
I'm sorry, there is something I don't get, if I remove the interface
how will it connect to the internet (provider, password etc.?) To
clarify, I have an internal (small) network and I connect to an ISP
(using PPTP cable modem), from all that I've read I'm supposed to
create a DDI to the ISP and NAT it.

Looking at the interfaces the RRAS created, there are: DDI, LAN (card
to the internal network), WAN (card to the modem), Loopback and some
interface called Internal which RRAS created automatically.

If I botched it up badly, please explain it a little more.

Thanks.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> I'm sorry, there is something I don't get, if I remove the interface
> how will it connect to the internet (provider, password etc.?)

The WAN nic.

> clarify, I have an internal (small) network and I connect to an ISP
> (using PPTP cable modem),

There is no such thing. PPTP is Point to Point Tunneling Protocol used to
establish a VPN connection.

> Looking at the interfaces the RRAS created, there are: DDI, LAN (card
> to the internal network), WAN (card to the modem), Loopback and some
> interface called Internal which RRAS created automatically.

The one called "internal" does not count. The LAN, WAN, and DDI count as
three interfaces.

> from all that I've read I'm supposed to create a DDI to the ISP and NAT
> it.

They probably mean it is a Broadband connection using PPPoE. PPPoE is a
type of "dialup" technology and pretty much isn't worth a crap. It is
really a "home user" thing and is intended for a single machine in the house
to use the internet connection. It is used by ISP's that at too cheap to own
enough public IP#s for all their customers, and since PPPoE works similar to
the Dialup/DHCP combination, they are gambling that not all their customers
will be active at the same time which may cause them to run out of IP#s.

If that is what you have then buy a broadband "router" like something from
Linksys, Netgear, D-Link. Those are designed with PPPoE functionality built
in and will handle those types of connections better.

The best thing is to get rid of that type of lousey internet service, but it
just depends on what is available in your area.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

On Jul 25, 10:48 pm, "Phillip Windell" <philwind...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> <johnsol...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>
> > I'm sorry, there is something I don't get, if I remove the interface
> > how will it connect to the internet (provider, password etc.?)
>
> The WAN nic.

But I can't specify a password on a nic

> > clarify, I have an internal (small) network and I connect to an ISP
> > (using PPTP cable modem),
>
> There is no such thing. PPTP is Point to Point Tunneling Protocol used to
> establish a VPN connection.

Yes, my ISP is a cable company that uses the cables infrastructure to
supply broadband. They gave me a modem, which usually works by
specifying a VPN connection in windows by using the PPTP protocol. I
was/am trying to do something similar with RRAS and NAT it so the rest
of the network can use the same connection.

> > Looking at the interfaces the RRAS created, there are: DDI, LAN (card
> > to the internal network), WAN (card to the modem), Loopback and some
> > interface called Internal which RRAS created automatically.
>
> The one called "internal" does not count. The LAN, WAN, and DDI count as
> three interfaces.

That is what I gathered.

> > from all that I've read I'm supposed to create a DDI to the ISP and NAT
> > it.
>
> They probably mean it is a Broadband connection using PPPoE. PPPoE is a
> type of "dialup" technology and pretty much isn't worth a crap. It is
> really a "home user" thing and is intended for a single machine in the house
> to use the internet connection. It is used by ISP's that at too cheap to own
> enough public IP#s for all their customers, and since PPPoE works similar to
> the Dialup/DHCP combination, they are gambling that not all their customers
> will be active at the same time which may cause them to run out of IP#s.
>
> If that is what you have then buy a broadband "router" like something from
> Linksys, Netgear, D-Link. Those are designed with PPPoE functionality built
> in and will handle those types of connections better.
>
> The best thing is to get rid of that type of lousey internet service, but it
> just depends on what is available in your area.

Yes I know about PPPoE, but as I said above my connection is through a
VPN. I've read somewhere that it's possible to supply an always on
connection with VPN, that's not the case with my provider, ie. I have
to dial out, supply a user name and password to connect.

Hopefully I'm clear enough, could you give a basic outline of how I
should configure my RRAS given the above constrains?

Many Thanks.

As Philip said, you can ignore the internal interface. That is only used
if you configure your server for incoming VPN or dialup users.

It should be possible to do what you are aiming at, but it doesn't
really seem worth the effort. If you are running the server as a DC I would
definitely say don't try to use it as a router. Buy a separate NAT device as
Philip suggested and keep your server with a LAN NIC only.

If it is not a DC you could run it as a NAT router, although it is not a
great idea. After you have set up your demand-dial interface, you need to
run the static route wizard and configure it so that the default route is
linked to the demand-dial interface. (That is you put 0.0.0.0 in the
Destination and Network mask boxes and select the dd interface from the
dropdown list. Tick the box to use this route to initiate dialout
connections). You then configure NAT to use this interface as the public
interface and the LAN NIC as the private interface.

Dial on demand works, but the first connection attempt often fails
because the request times out before the connection is made. Also, the first
request is often a DNS query using UDP, and only TCP will trigger dial on
demand.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> On Jul 25, 10:48 pm, "Phillip Windell" <philwind...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>> <johnsol...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>>
>> > I'm sorry, there is something I don't get, if I remove the interface
>> > how will it connect to the internet (provider, password etc.?)
>>
>> The WAN nic.
>
> But I can't specify a password on a nic
>
>> > clarify, I have an internal (small) network and I connect to an ISP
>> > (using PPTP cable modem),
>>
>> There is no such thing. PPTP is Point to Point Tunneling Protocol used
>> to
>> establish a VPN connection.
>
> Yes, my ISP is a cable company that uses the cables infrastructure to
> supply broadband. They gave me a modem, which usually works by
> specifying a VPN connection in windows by using the PPTP protocol. I
> was/am trying to do something similar with RRAS and NAT it so the rest
> of the network can use the same connection.
>
>> > Looking at the interfaces the RRAS created, there are: DDI, LAN (card
>> > to the internal network), WAN (card to the modem), Loopback and some
>> > interface called Internal which RRAS created automatically.
>>
>> The one called "internal" does not count. The LAN, WAN, and DDI count as
>> three interfaces.
>
> That is what I gathered.
>
>> > from all that I've read I'm supposed to create a DDI to the ISP and NAT
>> > it.
>>
>> They probably mean it is a Broadband connection using PPPoE. PPPoE is a
>> type of "dialup" technology and pretty much isn't worth a crap. It is
>> really a "home user" thing and is intended for a single machine in the
>> house
>> to use the internet connection. It is used by ISP's that at too cheap to
>> own
>> enough public IP#s for all their customers, and since PPPoE works similar
>> to
>> the Dialup/DHCP combination, they are gambling that not all their
>> customers
>> will be active at the same time which may cause them to run out of IP#s.
>>
>> If that is what you have then buy a broadband "router" like something
>> from
>> Linksys, Netgear, D-Link. Those are designed with PPPoE functionality
>> built
>> in and will handle those types of connections better.
>>
>> The best thing is to get rid of that type of lousey internet service, but
>> it
>> just depends on what is available in your area.
>
> Yes I know about PPPoE, but as I said above my connection is through a
> VPN. I've read somewhere that it's possible to supply an always on
> connection with VPN, that's not the case with my provider, ie. I have
> to dial out, supply a user name and password to connect.
>
> Hopefully I'm clear enough, could you give a basic outline of how I
> should configure my RRAS given the above constrains?
>
> Many Thanks.
>

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> Yes, my ISP is a cable company that uses the cables infrastructure to
> supply broadband. They gave me a modem, which usually works by
> specifying a VPN connection in windows by using the PPTP protocol. I
> was/am trying to do something similar with RRAS and NAT it so the rest
> of the network can use the same connection.

> Yes I know about PPPoE, but as I said above my connection is through a
> VPN. I've read somewhere that it's possible to supply an always on
> connection with VPN, that's not the case with my provider, ie. I have
> to dial out, supply a user name and password to connect.
>
> Hopefully I'm clear enough, could you give a basic outline of how I
> should configure my RRAS given the above constrains?

Wow! What a mess. You shouldn't be using VPN at all. That is enough to make
me think the governement ought to step in and force ISPs to provide services
in a standardized way,...and it would take a lot for me to agree to let the
government do anything.

Get a different provider.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------