# Connecting to a Windows Domain via VPN



## ramondailey (Feb 3, 2010)

Hi there. I have an iMac running Snow Leopard. I'm trying to get it connected to a Windows 2003 Domain via a PPTP VPN. The iMac connects to the domain just fine while on site.

The VPN connection works with no problems from Windows machines.

Over the VPN, I can get it to connect and authenticate with a Domain user without any trouble. I can browse the computers on the network, including the server. If I double-click the server to bring up the network shares, it says Connecting for a minute or two, then says Connection Failed.

I can connect to shares by going to Go, Connect to Server, then typing in SMB://IPAddress/Sharename. I have to use the IP address... the computer name doesn't work. This leads me to believe that the problem may be related to DNS. Even still, when I access the share, it can take a couple of minutes to show the contents of the folder, then when I double-click a subfolder, it takes another couple of minutes to show the contents there. On a Windows machine, this is nearly instantaneous.

When connected through the VPN, I can ping the server by IP, but not by name. Again, indicating to me a possible DNS issue.

In the Advanced settings for the VPN, under DNS, I added the IP address for the server which hosts DNS internally. If I don't do this, I can't browse the machines on the network at all. If I do have this setting in place, I can at least see the machines, but again when I try to connect, I get Connection Failed.

I'd like to have it set so that the users can browse to the shares like they're used to when connected via VPN.

Any thoughts?

Thank you.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

As far as using the name and not the IP address, I'm not sure there is anything you can do about that. Have you changed the WORKGROUP name on the Macs to match that as the network at the office? What happens when you try to connect with the same username and password that you would use to login to the PCs when you are sitting at that PC? Do any of the PCs have accounts without passwords, including Guest accounts?


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