Connect to Site to Site VPN with Windows XP

The following is a list of steps and screenshots to set up a VPN connection to a site-to-site VPN on Windows XP:

Open the Network Connections dialog from the Start menu or Control Panel.

This opens the new connection wizard. Click Next.

Select Connect to the network at my workplace and click Next.

Select Virtual Private Network connection and click Next.

Choose a name for your connection. This can be anything you want that helps you remember what it is later when you want to connect in the future.

Enter the domain name or IP address to your VPN server and click Next.

You can choose to add a shortcut to your desktop if you'd like and then click Finish.

The connection dialog opens up immediately. Enter your User Name and Password to connect to the VPN. This is your login user account on the VPN server you are connecting to. (NOTE: By default, the User name field is filled with your currently logged in user name for windows locally.). You can choose to save the user name and password and whether you want this connection available for just you or everyone that logs on to your machine. Then click Connect.

IMPORTANT: If you already have an internet connection on the machine you are configuring this VPN on, as soon as your VPN starts, your Internet connection will most likely be dropped. It turns out, that there is another setting that needs to be configured in order to access the Internet from your other network connection even while you are connected to the VPN.

NOTE: This only applies if you are connecting the Internet via a separate network connection from the VPN. If you want to "proxy" through the VPN and use it's Internet connection, then you will need to configure that on your VPN server and that is not in the scope of this tutorial. Here are the steps to get your Internet working again:

Open the Network Connections dialog and right-click your VPN connection and select Properties.

Click on the Networking tab and select your Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) connection in the list box. Then double click it or click Properties.

Click on the Advanced... button.

Uncheck the box for Use default gateway on remote network. and click OK.

Now open your browser and navigate. You should be back online the www and ready to go.