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VPN Connection Setup Procedure

VPN Connection Setup Procedure


      To successfully set up a USDA VPN client for Toolkit 2004 v 5.0, use the following procedure.

Setting Up a VPN Connection for Toolkit 2004

1.         For Toolkit to work properly, the user must be granted privileges on the server where the field office customer files are stored as well as normal Domain privileges.
2.         The server location must be defined with the Endpoint Utility application, as per the Toolkit 2004 Installation Guide.
3.         A workstation with a VPN connection must be joined to the appropriate USDA domain before attempting the VPN domain log in described below. Using workstations that are not correctly joined to the USDA domain ("silent sites") leads to failures, such as not being able to check in customers.
4.         Use the VPN workstation to log in to the appropriate domain (AGWEST, AGEAST or AGCENTRAL). This joins the workstation to the Active Directory.
5.         The user should then log in to the USDA domain using his or her USDA domain log in information. (The user should not use a local machine log-in. This log in information is not part USDA domain and will cause a failure.)
The basic symptom for problems in the VPN setup is the inability to transfer files correctly and a failure when copying the backup file on the server during a Toolkit check-in operation.  Other failures have been seen, but most often reflect the issue of permissions not being properly set.
Point of Contact
For more information on VPN configuration, contact Brian Walls at Toolkit Support, bwalls@itc.nrcs.usda.gov, or (970) 295-5573
Acknowledgment

We acknowledge and thank Chuck Reeves ( AK ) and Gary Ahearn ( NC ) for their assistance in developing these procedures.