Creating a Broadband Connection to the Internet
In many respects, broadband
connections are much easier to configure than dial-up connections. When
you work with broadband, you don’t need to set up dial-up rules or
locations. You don’t need to worry about calling cards, ISP access
numbers, or redialing preferences, and this makes broadband much easier
to work with.
Most broadband providers give users a router or a modem that users
need to connect to the service provider. Each user must also have a
network adapter on his or her computer, connected to a DSL router or
cable modem. In this configuration, the necessary connection is
established over a LAN rather than a specific broadband connection. Therefore, it is the network connection that must be properly configured to gain access to the Internet. You won’t need to create a broadband connection.
You can, however, create a specific broadband connection if needed.
In some cases, you need to do this to set specific configuration
options, such as secure authentication, required by an ISP, or you might
want to use this technique to set the user name and password required
by the broadband provider.
You create a broadband connection to the Internet by following these steps:
-
In Network And Sharing Center, tap or click Set Up A New Connection Or Network. This starts the Set Up A Connection Or Network Wizard. -
Select Connect To The Internet, and then tap or click Next. If the
computer is already connected to the Internet, tap or click Set Up A New
Connection Anyway. If you have another usable connection already, you
can reconfigure that connection for use or create a new connection.
Typically, you’ll want to create a new connection, so tap or click Set
Up A New Connection Anyway. Tap or click No, Create A New Connection,
and then tap or click Next. -
On the How Do You Want To Connect page, tap or click Broadband (PPPoE) to create a broadband connection to the Internet. -
Do the following, and then tap or click Next:
-
Set account information for the connection. Enter the user name in the text box provided, and then enter the password.
Note
SECURITY ALERT Although you can
specify that the password is remembered by selecting Remember This
Password, this is a poor security practice because it enables anyone
with access to the computer to use the connection.
-
In the Connection Name text box, type the name for the connection, such as Seattle Office Secure Broadband. Keep in mind that the name should be short (50 or fewer characters) but descriptive. -
If you want the connection to be available to all users of the
computer, select Allow Other People To Use This Connection. This option
is best when you plan to assign the connection through Group Policy and
have not provided user logon information.
-
Tap or click Connect to create the connection and connect to it. In
most cases, the connection will fail because you are setting up a
connection for an alternate location, such as a remote
office, and these settings won’t work through the organization’s
network. As a result, you’ll have an option to tap or click Skip to
bypass connection activation. Tap or click Close.
Tip
With a broadband connection, you need a DSL router or cable modem to
test the connection. Be sure to configure any special settings required
by the ISP.
3. Creating a VPN Connection
VPNs are used to establish secure communications channels over an
existing dial-up or broadband connection. You must know the IP address
or fully qualified domain name of the remote
access server to which you are connecting. If the necessary connection
is available and you know the host information, you can create the
connection by following these steps:
-
In Network And Sharing Center, tap or click Set Up A New Connection
Or Network. This starts the Set Up A Connection Or Network Wizard. -
To create a VPN connection, select Connect To A Workplace, and then tap or click Next. -
If you have an existing dial-up connection, select No, Create A New Connection, and then tap or click Next. -
Tap or click Use My Internet Connection (VPN). -
Users will need to establish a connection to the Internet—via dial-up
or broadband—before attempting to use the VPN. Select an existing
connection to use and then tap or click Next. -
Type the IPv4 or IPv6 address or fully qualified domain name of the computer to which you are connecting, such as 157.54.0.1 or external.microsoft.com. In most cases, this address is for the remote access server configured for the office network. -
Type a name for the connection in the Destination Name text box. If
the computer is configured to use a smart card for authentication,
select Use A Smart Card. -
If you want the connection to be available to all users of the
computer, select Allow Other People To Use This Connection. This option
is best when you plan to assign the connection through Group Policy and
have not provided user logon information.
Note
SECURITY ALERT Although you can
specify that the password is remembered by selecting Remember My
Credentials, doing so is a poor security practice because it enables
anyone with access to the computer to use the connection. If you don’t
select Remember My Credentials, the user normally is prompted for her
password.
-
Tap or click Create.
In Group Policy, you can create, edit, and remove VPN connections by using network options preferences. To configure network options preferences, follow these steps:
-
Open a Group Policy Object for editing in the Group Policy Management
Editor. To configure preferences for computers, expand Computer
Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings, and then select
Network Options. To configure preferences for users, expand User
Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings, and then select
Network Options. -
Press and hold or right-click the Network Options node, point to New,
and then tap or click VPN Connection. This opens the Network Options
Properties dialog box. -
In the Action list, select Create, Update, or Replace, as appropriate. -
If you want the connection to be available to all users of the
computer, select Allow User Connection. Otherwise, select User
Connection to apply the connection only to the user for whom the policy
is being processed. -
Enter a connection name and connection IP address. Alternatively,
select Use DNS Name, and then enter the fully qualified domain name to
use. -
On the Security tab, select Advanced. Use the Data Encryption list to
specify whether and how encryption should be used. In most cases,
you’ll want to require encryption. Under Logon Security, specify the
security options to use. -
Use the options on the Common tab to control how the preference is
applied. Often, you’ll want to apply a policy only once. If so, select
Apply Once And Do Not Reapply. -
Tap or click OK. The next time Group Policy is refreshed, the
preference item will be applied as appropriate for the Group Policy
Object in which you defined the preference item.
|