Any way to download a .pcf file from an email to the iphone for vpn setup?

Sorry, but no. there is no way to import pcf files. Would be nice though.

Your best bet would be to import it onto your computer's cisco VPN app, then just copy the settings. At least that what I did. You may need to ask your network admins for the shared secret/group authentication password, as that's going to be •••••••'d out in the Cisco app.

If they won't give you that info, them maybe at least they'll enter the password for you.

Glad it worked. Fight on.

Will the IT department be able to tell that my VPN username is connecting to the VPN with an iPhone? And thus know that I hacked the pcf file for the grp password?

Is there a way to just configure the Cisco VPN client and possibly the wifi setups in the iPhone Configuration Web Utility? This would eliminate having to download a .pcf file to the iPhone. I am not extremely familiar with this product, but each time I attempt it, I can get the configuration completed, email it to the necessary user, but it always tells me that "it can't install profile because only one Exchange Account can be set up at a given time."

I would prefer to use this method. You cannot send a pre-share or group key in clear text so this would allow it to be encrypted, correct? Maybe an Apple tech support person is viewing these messages and can answer.

Does anyone have a way around this?

Thanks

Dwane

As one of "those" IT guys I'd be leery of your approach. See if your IT group can create you a mobileconfig file with the VPN setup. Trying to back door these things tends to tick off the folks who are working to ensure services.

As an IT guy, but an non-iPhone user, I would like to know how to configure one of the mobileconfig files you mentioned. Are you speaking about a config file from the iPhone configuration Utility? If so, this is what we have tried.

I would like to be able to do an Enterprise configuration for certain aspects of the configuration utlity, but it will not let us. We will not work around it, but take an individual as opposed to the enterprise approach.

This utility is fine out of the box, but does not allow any means to "skip" portions of the install. Even when we removed the Exchange account on the iPhone we were using as a test, once we click the install the profile, it tried to step us through the entire setup.

Do you know of ways to "skip" installing the different phases of the iphone web configuration utility?

I appreciate you response.

Dwane

I understand some of the frustration using the Iphone Web Configuration Utility. Its pretty and does a fair job, but it has areas where things don't implement consistently.

The Enterprise Deployment guide has a hint to create seperate profile elements for different functions. On each page of the configuration tool in the upper right corner is a plus/minus. Clicking minus removes the configuration properties for that purpose.

In our case I created a Passcode/VPN/WiFi/Certificate policy, and then an Exchange Policy. Our first policy tried to be all things to all people and it would try and force authentication of the email policy before the wireless/VPN was configured. It would really be handy if you could weight the policy installation priorities. I'm going to break that out even further because the WiFi policy seems to have issues with the Certificate policy. On import it is unable to verify a root CA that is already trusted by the device.

If your doing IPSEC the client configuration is pretty basic, Gateway/User Cred/Group Cred. Most of the client configuration happens at the Group configuration config on the VPN gateway.

Matt,

Let me take a closer look at this configuration guide. I probably missed something then. I just want to do a wifi/ipsec(cisco) policy. It all seems simple

I will look closer.

Thank you.

Dwane