For most network engineers, one of the most difficult and tricky features to configure on Cisco equipment is to properly setup a VPN communication network.
I have realized that from the numerous emails and questions I get almost every day from readers of my blog and in my workplace as well.
Cisco is one of the leaders in VPN technologies. This is good for enterprises and companies which can use the flexible Cisco VPN features to meet their business goals (such as low cost in connectivity and communication between branches, flexibility in communication, security etc).
On the other hand, VPN is a pain for network administrators who are required to know how to configure and design several different VPN technologies supported by Cisco, such as Site-to-Site IPSEC VPN, remote access IPSEC VPN using vpn client software, Easy VPN, GRE VPN Tunnels, GRE over IPSEC, DMVPN (Dynamic Multipoint VPN), Virtual Tunnels configuration etc etc.
In addition to the above VPN technologies, a network administrator is also required to know how to configure them on different networking platforms, such as Firewalls (ASA, PIX) and IOS Routers.
Recently I have stumbled upon a really useful software tool which will be of great value for Cisco network engineers. The VPN Config Generator tool from configureterminal. As the website states, with VPN Config Generator you can “Create Complicated VPNs in seconds at the click of a button!“.
(click for larger picture)
As you can see from the pictures above, you first select the platform that you want to configure VPN on (i.e Router or ASA/PIX Firewall), and then select the type of VPN that you want to configure.
The tool supports almost all Cisco VPN technologies and also supports configurations between different platforms (e.g ASA to ASA, ASA to Router etc) and between different ASA versions.
After you specify the required parameters, the tool will generate a working configuration (in text format) which you can just copy and paste onto the Router or Firewall (ASA/PIX) via the command line terminal and you will be up and running.
So basically you are working offline first and then upload the generated config onto the live device.
I highly recommend this tool as it will save you from a lot of hassle and problems. Check it out from the official website.