Computer Science and Engineering
Linux Cisco VPN Client Installation and Setup Guide
Contents
Installation: Ubuntu Linux 7.10 Gusty Gibbon: ........................................................................ 2
Installation: Redhat Enterprise 5 and Fedora 8 Linux: .............................................................. 3
Profile Import – All distributions:............................................................................................... 4
Usage – All Distributions: .......................................................................................................... 5
Example: Access to Home Directory.......................................................................................... 5
Installation: Ubuntu Linux 7.10 Gusty Gibbon:
Prerequisites:
o The OS is running with the latest updates
o Kernel source is present /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/build
o Kernel headers are present /usr/src/linux/kernel-headers-2.6.22-14
Acquire the Linux VPN client by 1 of 2 ways:
o Two clients are available for linux:
 https://www.cse.psu.edu/it/documentation/vpn/vpnsoftware/vpnclientlinux-x86-64-4.8.01.0640-k9.tar.gz (Kernel 2.6)
 https://www.cse.psu.edu/it/documentation/vpn/vpnsoftware/vpnclientlinux-4.0.5-2.4-kernel.tar.gz (Kernel 2.4)
 (Site requires CSE username and password for authentication)
o The ITS downloads page at https://downloads.its.psu.edu
Please note that the first download location requires authentication with a valid CSE
username and password. There is no difference between the files at the download sites. They
are the same version and have the same pre-configured profiles installed.
Choose the suitable download location and save the client to a known location on your
machine, any directory of choice will do. For the following example the assumption is
that the client will be for the 2.6 kernel.
Unpack the linux VPN client by typing: (note you need superuser privileges)
o sudo tar -zxvf vpnclient-linux-x86_64-4.8.01.0640-k9.tar.gz
o The package will be unzipped and untarred, creating the “vpnclient” directory
cd into the “vpnclient” directory
o Execute the vpn install script by typing:
 sudo ./vpn_install
o The install script will start you will need to answer some questions about your OS Install
 Directory where binaries will be installed [/usr/local/bin] - Press Enter
 Automatically start the VPN service at boot time [yes] - Press Enter
 Directory containing linux kernel source code []
If the directory is not filled in and you see a [] (as above) enter the
following: /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/build/

The install script will present a summary of what you entered and ask if it is
correct. If it is press enter [y]
o The install script will continue installing the software
When the install script is complete the init script to start the VPN Client needs to be run
manually. It will start automatically on boot.
o Start the VPN Client: /etc/init.d/vpnclient_init start
If there were no errors the install and startup process is complete
Installation: Redhat Enterprise 5 and Fedora 8 Linux:
Prerequisites:
o The OS is running with the latest updates
o The following packages:
 Kernel-devel
 gcc-glibc
 gcc-glibc headers
 kernel-headers-2.6
 libgomp
 glibc-headers (Fedora 8)
 These packages will be installed by issuing the following commands(as root)
The dependencies of the packages below will fulfill the package requirements
above.
Yum install kernel-devel
Yum install gcc
o Kernel source code /lib/modules/2.6.18-53.1.13.el5/build/(RHEL5)
o Kernel source code /lib/modules/2.6.23.15-137.fc8/build/(Fedora 8)
Acquire the Linux VPN client by 1 of 2 ways:
o Two clients are available for linux:
 https://www.cse.psu.edu/downloads/cisco_vpn/vpnclient-linux-x86_644.8.01.0640-k9.tar.gz (Kernel 2.6)
 https://www.cse.psu.edu/downloads/cisco_vpn/vpnclient-linux4.0.5_2.4_kernel.tar.gz (Kernel 2.4)
 (Site requires CSE username and password for authentication)
o The ITS downloads page at https://downloads.its.psu.edu
Please note that the first download location requires authentication with a valid CSE
username and password. There is no difference between the files at the download sites. They
are the same version and have the same pre-configured profiles installed.
Choose the suitable download location and save the client to a known location on your
machine, any directory of choice will do. For the following example the assumption is
that the client will be for the 2.6 kernel.
Unpack the linux VPN client by typing: (note you need superuser privileges)
o sudo tar -zxvf vpnclient-linux-x86_64-4.8.01.0640-k9.tar.gz
o The package will be unzipped and untarred, creating the “vpnclient” directory
cd to the “vpnclient” directory
o Execute the vpn install script by typing:
 sudo ./vpn_install
o The install script will start you will need to answer some questions about your OS Install
 Directory where binaries will be installed [/usr/local/bin] - Press Enter
 Automatically start the VPN service at boot time [yes] - Press Enter
 Directory containing linux kernel source code [/lib/modules/2.6.1853.1.13.el5/build/](RHEL5) - Press Enter
If the directory is not filled in and you see a [] (as above) enter the
location of the kernel source code. Remember the kernel source will be
different for Fedora 8 (/lib/modules/2.6.23.15-137.fc8/build/)
 The install script will present a summary of what you entered and ask if it is
correct. If it is press enter [y]
o The install script will continue installing the software
When the install script is complete the init script to start the VPN Client needs to be run
manually. It will start automatically on boot.
o Start the VPN Client: /etc/init.d/vpnclient_init start
If there were no errors the install and startup process is complete
Profile Import – All distributions:
In order to use the CSE VPN service specific the VPN Client needs to be configured with
the proper settings. To import the CSE profile, do the following:
Download the profile from
https://www.cse.psu.edu/it/documentation/vpn/vpnsoftware/ISP%20to%20CSE.pcf and save
it to a known location on your computer.
Next copy the file to the Cisco VPN Client profile directory. From a command line
execute the following:
o cp /somedirectory/subdirectory/ISPtoCSE.pcf
/etc/CiscoSystemsVPNClient/Profiles/
Usage – All Distributions:
Now you can start using the VPN Client. From a command line execute the following:
vpnclient connect ISPtoCSE
o The client will prompt for a username: Enter your CSE userID.
o Next it will prompt for a password: Enter your CSE password.
If there are no errors you have successfully established a VPN connection to CSE.
Success! The Cisco VPN Client for Windows has been successfully installed and configured.
If there are any questions regarding the installation or configuration of the VPN client please
email helpdesk@cse.psu.edu.
Example: Access to Home Directory
To access a home directory from the CSE VPN execute the following on your linux
machine:
Using the command line Interface
o Attain sudo or root privilege
o Create a directory where you would like to mount your CSE home directory
 Example: sudo mkdir /share
o Mount the directory
 mount -t cifs –o rw,username=<yourCSEusername> //casa.cse.psu.edu/<your
CSEuserID> /share
o If there are no errors cd to the /share directory and your CSE home directory files should
be there.