Lion 10.7.4 PPTP VPN MPPE Issues

Question

Hey people,I recently upgraded my server from Snow Leopard Server to Lion Server, and updated to 10.7.4. I know Lion Server didn&#x27;t offer a GUI for PPTP configuration before 10.7.3, but after the update I figured I&#x27;d give it a shot. I kinda wish I hadn&#x27;t.I&#x27;ve setup VPN through the Server app, basically leaving all the settings to their default. I&#x27;m trying to connect to the server locally, so I know port forwarding isn&#x27;t the issue. I only want to get PPTP working; since one of the L2TP ports is the same as the Back to my Mac through iCloud port (I think it&#x27;s 4500 or something), I wanted to go with the PPTP so I could also have Back to my Mac (don&#x27;t ask why I want both).Anyway, the issue is in connecting to the server locally, I get an error in the log file about how MPPE is required, but keys are not available. I know what MPPE is, and even followed the support doc from http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4241, but it didn&#x27;t help. Client-side, I&#x27;m getting the error "A connection could not be established to the PPP server. Try reconnecting. If the problem continues, verify your settings and contact your Administrator."I&#x27;ve copied the log file below. Please let me know if I missed any information; I&#x27;m in a bit of a rush and had to type this quickly. Any help is always appreciated. Thanks!2012-05-13 14:29:57 EDT Incoming call... Address given to client &#x3D; 192.168.1.229Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Directory Services Authentication plugin initializedSun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Directory Services Authorization plugin initializedSun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : PPTP incoming call in progress from &#x27;192.168.1.13&#x27;...Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : PPTP connection established.Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : using link 0Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Using interface ppp0Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Connect: ppp0 &lt;--&gt; socket[34:17]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [LCP ConfReq id&#x3D;0x1 &lt;asyncmap 0x0&gt; &lt;auth chap MS-v2&gt; &lt;magic 0x76ed810&gt; &lt;pcomp&gt; &lt;accomp&gt;]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : rcvd [LCP ConfReq id&#x3D;0x1 &lt;asyncmap 0x0&gt; &lt;magic 0x12cb3fcd&gt; &lt;pcomp&gt; &lt;accomp&gt;]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : lcp_reqci: returning CONFACK.Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [LCP ConfAck id&#x3D;0x1 &lt;asyncmap 0x0&gt; &lt;magic 0x12cb3fcd&gt; &lt;pcomp&gt; &lt;accomp&gt;]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : rcvd [LCP ConfAck id&#x3D;0x1 &lt;asyncmap 0x0&gt; &lt;auth chap MS-v2&gt; &lt;magic 0x76ed810&gt; &lt;pcomp&gt; &lt;accomp&gt;]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [LCP EchoReq id&#x3D;0x0 magic&#x3D;0x76ed810]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [CHAP Challenge id&#x3D;0x11 &lt;401c36015b2e670f22256c5d415e0a60&gt;, name &#x3D; "mac-mini-server.local"]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : rcvd [LCP EchoReq id&#x3D;0x0 magic&#x3D;0x12cb3fcd]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [LCP EchoRep id&#x3D;0x0 magic&#x3D;0x76ed810]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : rcvd [LCP EchoRep id&#x3D;0x0 magic&#x3D;0x12cb3fcd]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : rcvd [CHAP Response id&#x3D;0x11 &lt;30ed187d21d0e87dd09b414cc535a12f0000000000000000622d557cb34e3baba02fdf3979d3e4 eef774f2c5192d667d00&gt; , name &#x3D; "Matt"]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : DSAuth plugin: unsupported authen authority: recved ShadowHash;HASHLIST:&lt;SALTED-SHA512,SMB-NT,CRAM-MD5,RECOVERABLE&gt;, want ApplePasswordServerSun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [CHAP Success id&#x3D;0x11 "S&#x3D;275C80AAE3A93F8EAEBCC5D14D79D9692DC925AD M&#x3D;Access granted"]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : CHAP peer authentication succeeded for MattSun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : DSAccessControl plugin: User &#x27;Matt&#x27; authorized for accessSun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : MPPE required, but keys are not available. Possible plugin problem?Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : sent [LCP TermReq id&#x3D;0x2 "MPPE required but not available"]Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Connection terminated.Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Connect time 0.0 minutes.Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : Sent 0 bytes, received 0 bytes.Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : PPTP disconnecting...Sun May 13 14:29:57 2012 : PPTP disconnected

kingsapo1852 · Answer

Well, it&#x27;s been a few days and with no response I thought I&#x27;d look for another solution. I&#x27;ve been trying this software called iVPN, apparently it&#x27;s like a front-end to OS X&#x27;s built-in VPN server. Anyway, I disabled the VPN Server from the Server app, turned on iVPN and was VPN-ing from my iPhone over 3G in notime. It&#x27;s a great app, though it kinda ***** that the server can&#x27;t do what it&#x27;s built to do. Since VPN was the big reason I got Server in the first place, I&#x27;ll probably uninstall it and stick with OS X&#x27;s built-in file sharing and iVPN.

Elite Expert of all Knowledge · Answer

I had this issue. It was due to trying to use local users with the VPN service. I discovered that I needed to use Open Directory users. I think it is actually in the documentation.If you must use local users, you can get it working by turning off encryption.

kingsapo1852 · Answer

Thanks for the reply, but I think I tried creating an Open Directory user, and it didn&#x27;t work. In the above log file, the user I created had the short name "Matt", and the authentication did work, but something after (probably the encryption, like you mentioned) didn&#x27;t work. I&#x27;ve pretty much given up on this, however, since I won&#x27;t really use VPN all that much, and iVPN has been good for my needs. Thanks again for your input!