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In Mac OS X, how do I make an IPsec VPN connection to the IU network?

Note: For VPN when connecting from off campus, use the recommended SSL VPN if your campus supports it. The IPsec VPN at IUB and IUPUI will eventually be retired.

If you are connecting to the IU wireless network with your Mac, see IU Secure wireless connections: Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

IU Secure is the wireless network for students, faculty, and staff to access on all campuses. IU Secure utilizes WPA2 Enterprise (Wi-Fi Protected Access) for authentication and encryption; no VPN is needed.

You need Mac OS X 10.3 or later to make a VPN connection to Indiana University Bloomington or IUPUI. Follow the appropriate set of instructions below to make an IPsec VPN connection.

On this page:

Mac OS X 10.7.x (Lion), 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), and 10.5.x (Leopard)

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences... . When the System Preferences window opens, from the View menu, select Network.

  2. Near the bottom left corner of the Network window, click the + (plus sign). In the sheet that appears, next to "Interface:", choose VPN. Next to "VPN Type:", choose L2TP over IPSec. Click Create.

    Note: If you can't click the + (plus sign), click the padlock icon next to "Click the lock to make changes". Enter the password for an administrator account on your Mac, and then click OK.

  3. In the "Server Address:" field, enter the appropriate server address:

    • At IUB: ipsec.indiana.edu
    • At IUPUI: ipsec.iupui.edu

  4. In the "Account Name:" field, type your Network ID username.

    If your username and passphrase are not accepted, try entering your username with the following format (replace username with your Network ID username):

    ads\username
  5. Click Authentication Settings... . In the "User Authentication" section, make sure Password is selected, and then enter your Network ID passphrase.

  6. In the "Machine Authentication" section, make sure Shared Secret is selected, and in the field type: hermanbwells
  7. Click OK.

  8. Click Advanced... . Under the Options tab, make sure Send all traffic over VPN connection is checked, and then click OK.

  9. Click Apply. To make a VPN connection, click Connect.

    To display a small VPN icon in the upper right corner of your screen, leave Show VPN status in menu bar checked. You can then click this icon and select from several options in the pull-down menu, rather than having to access VPN options from System Preferences.

Edit or remove a VPN configuration

  1. On the left side of the Network window, click the VPN connection you want to remove; it should be marked with a padlock icon to its right.

  2. On the right side of the window, you can change server, account, and other configuration settings for the selected connection. To remove the VPN configuration, in the bottom-left corner of the window, click - (minus sign).

  3. Click Apply to save your changes.

Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) and 10.3.x (Panther)

Note: If you are using Mac OS X 10.4.4, you cannot use IPsec for VPN connections at an IU campus; you will need to update your operating system; see For Mac OS X, how do I obtain and install system software updates?

  1. From your Applications folder, open Internet Connect. When the program opens, from the File menu, select New VPN Connection.

  2. On the sheet that drops down, select L2TP over IPsec, and then click Continue.

  3. Next to "Server address:", enter the appropriate server address:

    • At IUB: ipsec.indiana.edu
    • At IUPUI: ipsec.iupui.edu

  4. For "Account Name:" and "Password:", enter your IU Network ID.

    Note: Your passphrase cannot be longer than 31 characters.

    If your username and passphrase are not accepted, try entering your username with the following format (replace username with your Network ID username):

    ads\username
  5. Next to "Configuration:", select Edit Configurations... . In the sheet that appears, next to "Save As:", type a descriptive name such as "IU IPsec". Click Save.

  6. In the sheet that appears, make sure the descriptive name you just saved is selected under "Configuration". Next to "Shared Secret:", type: hermanbwells
  7. Click OK.

You can temporarily change any of the settings at any point by entering the new information in the appropriate field. However, to remove or permanently edit a configuration, follow the appropriate steps below:

Edit a VPN configuration

  1. From the pull-down menu next to "Configuration:", select Edit Configurations... .

  2. On the sheet that drops down, you can change the description, server address, account name (username), authentication method (password or RSA SecurID), and shared secret.

  3. When you have made your changes, click OK.

Remove a VPN configuration

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences... .

  2. In System Preferences, from the View menu, select Network.

  3. From the pull-down menu next to "Show:", select Network Port Configurations.

  4. In the list of port configurations, select the VPN configuration you wish to remove, and then click Delete... . On the sheet that drops down, click Delete again to confirm the action.

  5. Click Apply Now to remove the configuration from Internet Connect.
This is document algk in domain all.
Last modified on July 21, 2011.

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