How to setup L2TP over IPsec for iDRAC on MS Windows

In modern IT infrastructure, remote management of servers is essential for seamless operations. iDRAC (Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller) offers robust remote management capabilities for Dell servers. One common method to securely access iDRAC is by setting up L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) over IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) on Windows. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to configure L2TP over IPsec for iDRAC on Microsoft Windows, ensuring secure and efficient remote access to your server.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setup L2TP over IPsec for iDRAC on Microsoft Windows

1. Go to Start and select Settings. 

2. Choose "Network & Internet". 

3. Go to "VPN" tab and click "Add a VPN connection". 

4. In the following window choose "Windows (built-in)" in the "VPN provider" list, choose "L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key" in the "VPN type", and fill the rest of the fields with data from portal.servers.com, where:

• Server name or address: VPN server

• User name: Login

• Password: Password

• Pre-shared key: Shared secret

5. Click "Save" button.

6. Activate additional security protocols for the newly created connection. On the VPN tab click "Change adapter options" in the "Related settings" section.

7. Choose adapter that have the same name as your VPN connection and click "Change settings of this connection". 

8. In the connection properties window go to "Security" tab and enable section "Allow these protocols".

Make sure that only "Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)" and "Microsoft CHAP Cersion 2 (MS-CHAP v2)" are enabled, then click "OK".

Then switch to the "Networking" tab. Select the IPv4 protocol and open its properties using the "Properties" button. Click the "Advanced" button in the properties dialogue, and clear "Use default gateway on remote network" checkbox.

Click OK to save settings and close opened dialogues.

9. Go to Start → Settings → Network → VPN, choose your VPN connection and click "Connect".

10. As soon as VPN connection is established, add a route to iDRAC's network. Go to Start, type cmd and run Command Prompt application with Administrator privileges: 

11. Type the following command to get the VPN network adapter ID: 

route print

Go to "Interfaces List" block and look for your VPN adapter and its ID:

12. Execute the following command, replacing "your_adapter_ID" with actual ID you received on the previous step:

route add -p 198.18.0.0 mask 255.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 if your_adapter_ID

13. Now you should be able to connect to iDRAC of your server.

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