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alexforsythe24 · Sep 2, 2003, 10:12 PM

will/does panther support nortel contivitiy in the OS ?

The netlock client stinks.

Does anyone know any other possible 3rd party solutions ?

CatOne · Sep 2, 2003, 10:21 PM

Originally posted by alexforsythe24:
will/does panther support nortel contivitiy in the OS ?

The netlock client stinks.

Does anyone know any other possible 3rd party solutions ?

It supports IpSec and PPTP. Is the Nortel client proprietary or based on one of these standard protocols?

alexforsythe24 · Sep 2, 2003, 10:43 PM

Originally posted by CatOne:
It supports IpSec and PPTP. Is the Nortel client proprietary or based on one of these standard protocols?

I think it's based on IPsec, but I'm not 100% sure there aren't some proprietary portions. To be honest I don't know all that much about the various VPN protocols.

does panther add it's own interface for IPSec or do you still need a third party app?

wadesworld · Sep 3, 2003, 07:46 AM

Although most VPN hardware uses IPSec as its protocol, almost all manufacturers add on some proprietary extensions to accomplish extra functionality which would be impossible using just the standard-based protocol.

The only VPN device from a major manufacturer that I know of which has an OS X client is Cisco.

Wade

pelorus · Sep 3, 2003, 08:24 AM

Originally posted by alexforsythe24:
will/does panther support nortel contivitiy in the OS ?

The netlock client stinks.

Does anyone know any other possible 3rd party solutions ?

There are only two ways to go with a Nortel solution.

1) Software (and the Netlock stuff is OSX compliant but is a pile of poo)

2) Hardware using their Contivity switched which works a charm but is obviously more expensive.

Nortel (and Cisco and everyone else) take advantage of the "looseness" of the IPSec standard to differentiate their products. For "differentiate", read "make mutually incompatible"

jamaica · Oct 26, 2003, 07:45 AM

Netlock Contivity VPN Client 2.1.7 for Nortel Networks released in the last week is fully compatible with G5s and Panther. I used it yesterday on my Panther G5.

IMHO, I disagree with you about the software stinking. Its a very stable piece of software and whenever I've ever had issues, the Netlock support team has been responsive. Like I said, IMHO.

dharknes · Oct 26, 2003, 08:14 AM

I know there are some wonderful IPSec configuration tools available, but has Apple included a System Preference for it yet? Something built-in from Apple would be REALLY cool.

ingeniero · Nov 17, 2003, 10:35 PM

Originally posted by dharknes:
I know there are some wonderful IPSec configuration tools available, but has Apple included a System Preference for it yet? Something built-in from Apple would be REALLY cool.

I can't use the built-in vpn capability in panther because apart from a user name and password, I need to have a field to enter a group authentication name and password. At my office, it's all pc's....and our IT has no idea where to get the mac os client of the nortel extranet client we have for the pc. I've been trying to find somewhere to download. Does anyone have a copy of the client that they can pass along?

Jerommeke · Nov 18, 2003, 01:09 AM

PPTP VPN should work (there is an option for it in the Connect-app), however there is a slight problem which I'm running into. On Windows machines, I have about 1000 settings about the connection I can set, and these are simply not available/reachable on the Mac afaik.

Therefore the connecting part succeeds, but the server immediately drops me off because of the wrong login methods.

Arkham_c · Nov 18, 2003, 08:40 AM

We have a Cisco VPN concentrator where I work and use SecureIDs. Apple's VPN implementation seems like it SHOULD work in this situation, but it does not. I have to use the Cisco client. It's really too bad, I'd much prefer to use the built-in solution.

Some Guy [] · Nov 18, 2003, 07:00 PM

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
We have a Cisco VPN concentrator where I work and use SecureIDs. Apple's VPN implementation seems like it SHOULD work in this situation, but it does not. I have to use the Cisco client. It's really too bad, I'd much prefer to use the built-in solution.

that's because there are many ways to configure your VPN. It's probably not configured to use L2TP over IPSEC.

-justin

wadesworld · Nov 18, 2003, 09:58 PM

We have a Cisco VPN concentrator where I work and use SecureIDs. Apple's VPN implementation seems like it SHOULD work in this situation, but it does not. I have to use the Cisco client. It's really too bad, I'd much prefer to use the built-in solution.

That's because Cisco's client adds in the concept of a group id and password, which is not in a "standards only" client. This allows the VPN administrator to set different privilege levels for entire groups, rather than having to do it individually.

Almost every VPN concentrator manufacturer implements some sort of proprietary extension like this.

Honestly, folks should be overjoyed that companies like Cisco and Nortel offer a OS X client - it'd be extremely easy for them to say, "not enough demand." Fortunately, it's pretty easy for them to port their Unix clients, so that's why it exists.

igorsway · Nov 22, 2003, 09:29 PM

The latest Netlock client works quite well with the Nortel Contivity switch.

OSX's native VPN client seems to have a problem with NAT - not a good choice if you travel.