VPN is a way to create a secure virtual network. Essentially, once you establish a VPN connection, your host appears to be part of a different network (normally the network the VPN server is on). Coorperations and Education use VPN clients to protect resources within their network.

In a nutshell that is...

Okay--

Just dealt with an iBook G4 using the Cisco VPN 4.0.5 on 10.3.7. User is connecting to our wireless network, but was not grabbing an IP address and was using the self assigned 169...

She was getting the same exact error message: When I reconfigured her machine to properly connect and receive a proper IP the VPN worked fine. To double check the error, I turned airport off (no other ports were active) and tried to connect through the VPN. The 201 Warning reappeared. Turned airport back on and the error went away.

I can only think of three things:

1. You don't have a valid net connection.
2. The VPN client is looking at an adapter other than your airport adaptor (I believe you said you were connecting via airport, no?)
3. Some utility is blocking the VPN from using the proper adapter.

Can you give us the specifics of your network setup and the configuration of your machine?

Powermac G5 with Lan and Airport. Lan isn't connected to the computer. I have all services disabled and I am not running any system mods. My internet connection is fine. I always get the right IP's from my basestation.

i know you said no services are running....umm how about the firewall that is built into OSX. I am sure I am not helping but these problems are always something corny that you tend to overlook, good luck man, i know how frustraiting it is to not have software work the way you want it to.

Firewall is/was deactivated

Could you try, just for the sake of it, to go to Network Port Configuration in the Network pref pane and take the check marks off allt he itnerfaces but your Airport ? I've had occasions wehre for some reason VPN would "stick" to a specific interface and not even check the others.
Also, did you try to connect to VPN with a wired connection ?

:-) I already have only Airport in network settings enabled. Wired connection is impossible. The modem is to far from this room away. And taking the whole computer over there isn't very amusing... ;-)

Leaf,

To sum up your issue, you click on the CiscoVPN client and instead of getting an app that bounces and opens, you get an annoying message that includes the fffffffffffffffch error and you never get a chance for a configuration. Is this correct?

What happens when you call upon the binary from its location?

cd /System/Library/StartUpItems/CiscoVPN

$ pwd
/System/Library/StartUpItems/CiscoVPN

then call it...
$ sudo ./CiscoVPN start

What happens/what is the error?

My guess is that you are getting an extension error loading CiscoVPN.kext.


-tombou

tombou, I'm having exactly the same issue as leaf. For about three months I was using 10.3.8 and VPN client worked fine. I upgraded to 10.4 couple of days ago, and now it gives me that error. I removed vpn client and reinstalled it, same results.

I ran ./CiscoVPN from that location like you explained and I get as you predicted:

kextload: kld_load_from_memory() failed for module /System/Library/Extensions/CiscoVPN.kext/Contents/MacOS/CiscoVPN
kextload: a link/load error occured for kernel extension /System/Library/Extensions/CiscoVPN.kext
load failed for extension /System/Library/Extensions/CiscoVPN.kext
(run kextload with -t for diagnostic output)

Do you know how to fix this?

Hi. I just installed Panther on my G5 (fresh installation) and tried VPN once again. And there was the exact same error like roman7927 posted. Please. We need serious help.... Is it the G5 architecture??

another VPN story, and a potential culprit (?)
 

About a year ago I was having the same problem as the original poster (or at least I was getting the same error message).

I generally use cisco's VPN client to access my University's network from home -- at some point I had configured Mac OS X's built in VPN program (accessed from within Internet Connect) as an experiment.

In retrospect, I believe that this is when my problems started with cisco's VPN.

The symptoms were (to the best of my recollection) ...
Boot computer, launch macs VPN and try to connect, university rejects. If I quit Macs VPN and then launch Cisco's VPN, I would get the "Warning 201: necessary VPN sub-system is not available." If I restarted the computer and then launched Cisco's VPN, I could connect.

Similarly, boot computer, launch OS X's mail program to access my university mail account it would fail (university requires vpn). If I subsequently try to launch cisco VPN, I get the "Warning 201". If I reboot, launch Cisco vpn, and then launch mail -- everthing connects correctly. Perhaps mail tries to use the bulit in VPN if cisco vpn is not already up and running?

There is something about macs VPN that my university system does not like and somehow my mac was "remembering" (I do not know how else to describe it) whatever settings that led to the original rejection the only way to clear the problem generated by the initial connection attempt is to reboot.

I never did completely figure it out.
Good Luck.

-- Shawn

I'm still looking for a solution.... :-(

Roman and Leaf,

No, I dont know how to fix it. I have had this problem with Tiger since the WWDC pre-release. I am still on a pre-release (8a425) and it is still an issue. This machine is a 1.5 17" PowerBook, so I am afraid that this is not a G5 issue.

I will need a solution soon as I need to support customers that have to use the VPN to get their work done. Hopefully Cisco can fix this before 10.4 hits the shelves.

I wish my problem was associated with the built in VPN the same way that Shawns (SHWC) is. I had problems without trying to use the built in solution. Thanks for that lead Shawn. This may have to do with the 'New and Improved' integrated VPN.

-tombou

I just realized the same. It's a VPN <-> Tiger problem. I hope they will fix it soon. Thanks for all your help!

error 51
 

Hi,

I was stuggling with the Error 51 message for some time and eventually
tracked it down to being a lack of ethernet connection.

Cisco pegs mid-may as a release time for a Tiger-workable VPN client.

Thanks for looking into this and updating us.

Crap...wish I had read this thread before I upgraded my Powerbook to Tiger this morning :(

Having the same problem. Was working fine with 10.3.9, now, nothin'. Oh well...guess I'll just have to wait for Cisco to update the software.

Yeah, this is pretty annoying. I had opened a TAC case about it earlier this week and had a pretty lengthy conversation with Cisco about it. I know they knew about it because I had submitted an Apple Bug Report on it (which was closed as a duplicate bug report). So let's hope we have no major issues on the office network between now and "mid-May" or we could find a lot of people driving their happy butts into the office and strange hours.

NO CISCO VPN for TIGER!
 

I already posted this issue Thursday night, but it seems that someone removed the posting.

There currently is no support for the Cisco VPN client, development has told me that they are working on a release and expect to have one soon. Keep checking CISCO's website for updates.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/...0802e049d.html