Cisco VPN Software Client

Part II of this book discussed how to terminate VPN sessionsL2L and remote accesson Cisco VPN 3000 concentrators. In Part III, I'll discuss three remote access clients commonly used in Cisco shops: Cisco VPN Client software, Microsoft Windows' VPN client, and Cisco VPN 3002 hardware client. In Chapter 18, "Router Remote Access Connections," I'll discuss how to use a low-end Cisco router as a client and in Chapter 22, "PIX and ASA Remote Access Connections," I'll discuss how to use a PIX 501 or 506E as one.

To start off Part III, in this chapter I'll discuss the use of the Cisco VPN Client software for Windows to terminate IPsec remote access sessions, sometimes referred to as the "Unity" client. Cisco has moved away from using the term "Unity" to describe the client, though, because it conflicts with a product in their voice product line. Even though the software client can be used to terminate IPsec VPNs on any of the Cisco Easy VPN Server productsconcentrator, router, PIX, or ASAI'll focus on terminating client sessions on the VPN 3000 concentrators. The chapter is broken into six parts:

• An introduction to the software client, including installation of the client and its files and programs
• The GUI interface of the client
• IPsec remote access sessions to an Easy VPN Server, including the use of pre-shared keys and digital certificates
• Additional client components, including Application Launcher, Windows login, auto-initiation, and the stateful firewall features
• Software updates of the client
• Troubleshooting problems with the client's included tools