Have you expermented with configuring the firewall to pass the VPN
traffic?  Or do you just enable it and discover the traffic is blocked by
default?
  Depending on the specific VPN protocol used, it might be possible to
enable a port or program exception which handles it.  But if it uses a
transport protocol other than TCP or UDP (PPTP and SSL VPNs use TCP; GRE and
IPSEC VPNs don't, although some IPSEC implementations offer a UDP
alternative), you may need to switch to a firewall product that supports
these additional protocols.
  [Since there are alternatives available, one could argue that your IT
group's choice of what VPN technology to deploy is as responsible for the
problem as Microsoft's firewall implementation.]

David Gillett


On 3 Dec 2005 at 14:25, Robin Purtee wrote:

> We've found that our VPN client absolutely will not work with the Windows XP
> firewall that is provided in SP2.  100% of our users with XP computers have
> called in to us to find out why their VPN client cannot make contact with
> the Hospital's VPN.  We walk them through turning off the firewall and
> everything works fine after that.  I use Zone Alarm (free version) with no
> problem since it allows you to specify acceptable connections.
>
>
> > That's going to depend on your computer. Your best bet may be to visit
> > the manufacturer's web site and look for information. MS has published a
> > list of "Programs that are known to experience a loss of functionality
> > when they run on a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer".
> > http://support.microsoft.com/?id=884130
> > I've installed SP2 on 15-20 computers with no problem at all.

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