Installing the Cisco VPN Client on Linux

The Cisco VPN Client on Linux is not officially supported. Please use these instructions as guidelines and do not contact Middlebury College for support regarding the Cisco VPN Client for Linux.

Requirements: You will need to have the header files and the GCC compiler for your particular version of Linux. Check your documentation for details on this.

• Download the Cisco VPN Client for Linux (vpnclient-linux.tar.gz). Open the command line / Terminal and follow the next steps.
  
• cd to the folder where you donwloaded the client and unpack the client using the command
  tar -xfz vpnclient-linux.tar.gz
  
• cd to the folder where the client was unpacked (usually cd vpnclient) and start the installation using the command line
  sudo ./vpn_install
  
• Follow the onscreen instructions. The default options should work fine but exercise best judgement and consult your Linux documentation if you have questions.
  
• Before using the Cisco VPN client you may need to start it using this command
  sudo /etc/init.d/vpnclient_init start
  The command may not be needed, depending on what you chose during the installation of the client.
  
• Now the client needs to be configured to access Middlebury's VPN server.
  
• Download a set of configuration files (pcf.zip).
  
• Unzip them and copy all the pcf files to /etc/opt/cisco-vpnclient/Profiles
  cd to the folder where you unzipped the pcf files and execute this command
  sudo cp *.pcf /etc/opt/cisco-vpnclient/Profiles
  
• To use the client run the command
  sudo vpnclient connect midd-main-udp
• To disconnect run the command
  sudo vpnclient disconnect
  

Troubleshooting

Please consult the documentation for your version of Linux. In addition, the following resources may prove helpful: Generic:

• http://www.mnsu.edu/its/started/network/vpn/linux.html
  
• http://www.cs.umn.edu/help/offsite/vpn.php
• http://oit.rutgers.edu/vpn/vpn_files/linux-vpn.php3
• http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/Networking/Installing_the_Cisco_VPN_Client
• http://www.colorado.edu/cns/vpn/linux.html
• http://www.itap.purdue.edu/airlink/client/linux.cfm

Specific to newer builds of the Linux (such as more recent Ubuntu versions):

• http://projects.tuxx-home.at/
• http://www.longren.org/2007/05/17/how-to-cisco-vpn-client-on-ubuntu-704-feisty-fawn
• http://www.lamnk.com/blog/vpn/how-to-install-cisco-vpn-client-on-ubuntu-jaunty-jackalope-and-karmic-koala-64-bit/