Set Up Remote Access Server

How to setup Remote Access Server (RAS) on Windows 2003 server to create a PPTP VPN service and client connection.

In this how to I will be describing the process for implementing RAS on Windows 2003 server to create a VPN service and then connect to it using a client computer. To perform this how to you will need a computer running Windows 2003 server. The server will need to be multi-homed i.e. it will need two networking cards. If you have Microsoft Virtual PC you can use that to create the VPN server by simply adding two virtual networking cards to the Virtual PC. In addition, you will need two internal NAT static IP addresses one for each networking card.

Begin by adding the static IP addresses one for each network card. You can name the network connections if you whish i.e. one “Internal” and one “External”. If your server is already being used for network/domain services then name the existing network card with the existing IP address “Internal” as the internal IP address will be the one used by the actual server. Now make sure to plug both network cards into your network. Your configuration should look something like the example below:

NAT Network = 192.168.0.0

RAS Server Network Card One IP = 192.168.0.10

RAS Server Network Card Two IP = 192.168.0.11

DNS Server = Your DNS servers IP address

Gateway = Blank or your routers gateway address

Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0

Now you can configure Remote Access Server (RAS). Check that you have installed the RAS server from the 2003 CD. Programs->Administrative Tools> Remote Access Server. RAS is installed but not configured for the default 2003 OS installation.

Open RAS and right click where the red x is to Configure and Enable the service.

Proceed through the wizard by clicking Next:

Select “Virtual Private Network (VPN) access and NAT”:

Select “VPN”:

Select the External interface (network card) as the connection to the internet. In this case it is your internal NAT 192.168.0.11...