Configuring the Tunneling Protocol (s) Used

The default settings on the Security tab when a new VPN connection is created in Windows 7. Clicking the Type Of VPN control lets you select the tunneling protocol(s) that the connection can use when attempting to connect to a VPN server. The following options are available:

• Automatic The connection tries different tunneling protocols in the following order: IKEv2, SSTP, PPTP, and L2TP/IPsec. For example, if you want the connection to use IKEv2 with fallback to SSTP, choose this type of VPN for your connection. This is the default type of VPN for a newly created connection in Windows 7.
• PPTP The connection will try PPTP only when attempting to establish a connection with the VPN server.
• L2TP/IPsec The connection will try L2TP/IPsec only when attempting to establish a connection with the VPN server.
• SSTP The connection will try SSTP only when attempting to establish a connection with the VPN server.
• IKEv2 The connection will try IKEv2 only when attempting to establish a connection with the VPN server.

Specifying the type of VPN determines which tunneling protocol(s) can be used by the connection.

Note A best practice when client computers are running Windows 7 and the VPN server is running Windows Server 2008 R2 is to leave Type Of VPN set at its default value of Automatic.

You can reduce the time that it takes to establish a VPN connection by specifying the tunneling protocol you want your client to use (provided that the remote server also supports this protocol). To specify a tunneling protocol for a connection, follow these steps:

1. Open the properties of your VPN connection and then select the Security tab.
2. Under Type Of VPN, change the setting from Automatic to either PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, or IKEv2 as desired.

The default setting of Automatic means that Windows negotiates the tunneling protocol to use based on the algorithm outlined earlier in this tutorial in the section titled "Understanding the VPN Connection Negotiation Process."

Note Using FUS during a RAS/VPN session can affect your connectivity. For more information, see Knowledge Base article 289669 at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289669.