Tips for Troubleshooting VPN connection problems
Summary: If you are having problems using the VPN, see the tips below. If you need more help, contact the OIT Help Desk at (949) 824-2222.
1. I have two computers at home that I want to use the VPN client on, but they won't work at the same time. I also have a cable/dsl router/firewall. What do I do?
You need to switch to IPSec over TCP on both systems.
- On the Windows/Mac client, select the tunnel you want to use and click Modify -> Transport -> IPSec over TCP. The port number defaults to 10000.
- On Linux, edit /etc/CiscoSystemsVPNClient/Profiles/<tunnel>.pcf (where <tunnel> is name of the tunnel you want to change - UCI, UCIFull, etc), and change the line "TunnelingMode=0" to "TunnelingMode=1".
2. The client tells me "Authentication failed" when I try to connect.
This is usually caused by mis-typing your UCInetID and/or your password, or you have been blocked from using the VPN client. Blocking occurs because your computer may be infected with a worm or virus and is attacking other computers or relaying spam. Make sure you are using the right UCInetID and password. Passwords are case sensitive. If you are sure they are correct, call 949-824-2222 to see if you have been blocked from using the VPN due to problems with your computer.
3. I have a new MacBook Pro (purchased in 2011 or later) and when I run the VPN client I get "Error 51: Unable to communicate with the VPN Subsystem".
The current Cisco IPSec VPN client does not work on newer MacBook Pros that are running in 64-bit mode. You can either boot in 32-bit mode, or uninstall the Cisco IPSec VPN client and download a copy of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client which works on Macs in 64-bit mode. (Login required to download software.)
