Configuring Dial-Up Connections

Windows 7 supports both outgoing and incoming dial-up connections. For outgoing connections, Windows 7 is the client and connects to either a remote access server (RAS server) on a remote network (usually the corporate intranet) or a network access device (typically a modem bank) at an ISP. For incoming connections, Windows 7 acts as a mini-RAS server and allows a remote client computer to establish a dial-up connection between the two computers. Some enterprise environments still use RAS servers to provide mobile users with remote connectivity to the corporate network, but most enterprises now use VPN servers instead to save on long-distance telephone costs and the cost of maintaining multiple phone lines for RAS access. This section deals briefly with how to set up a dial-up connection to enable clients running Windows 7 to connect directly to a RAS server.

Note Incoming dial-up connections to client computers are rarely used in enterprise environments, so most of this discussion deals with outbound connections only. For information on how to create and configure an inbound connection on Windows 7, see the section titled "Configuring Incoming Connections" later in this tutorial.