Desktop w/ 3 NICs - Multiple VPN Connections - How to configure?

Hello.

Here is a brief run-down on what I would like to accomplish. If you
have any insight you could share, I would be very appreciative. In
addition, If additional hardware would make things easier, do mention
that as well.

My home PC has three network interfaces: 1 D-Link Wireless and 2
gigabit ethernet cards. I have a Linksys cable modem that I connect up
to my D-Link DIR-625 wireless router.

I work from home a lot and need to connect up to various VPNs
throughout the day. I would like to get things setup so that the
traffic for VPN-1 goes over one of the gigabit ethernet adapters and
traffic for VPN-2 goes over the other. All remaining traffic would go
over the wireless interface. I do know the various IPs/IP ranges for
each network that I VPN to if that should help.

Currently, I assign each NIC a static IP and I also have a static IP
on my cable connection into my home. One of the VPN connections uses
the CISCO VPN client, one uses the SonicWall Global VPN Client, and to
throw a kink into the mix here, sometimes I connect up to my employers
L2TP-IPSec VPN using the connection I setup in Windows Vista Ultimate.

Is what I am looking to do even possible? I am not well skilled in
this level of Networking but I have been reading up on a few possible
solutions, or partial solutions. Adding routes to the Windows route
table? Get a switch? Get another router?

Thanks for taking the time to assist.

-Mike

"mtangorre" <mtangorre@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:614f74a3-6206-4f28-8d81-9663a5963624@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> My home PC has three network interfaces: 1 D-Link Wireless and 2
> gigabit ethernet cards. I have a Linksys cable modem that I connect up
> to my D-Link DIR-625 wireless router.
>

Myself, I think you need to step-up in class to a firewall appliance, and
not a D-Link router, or may be a router/vpn solution, which might be able to
do what you want. You can also post to comp.security.firewalls, as you might
run into someone there that can help you too.

According to your description the D-Link Wireless Nic that connects to the
D-Link DIR-625 Wireless Router is the *only* nic that is actually in use to
begin with. The other two Gigabit adapters are not even being used.

Even if all three nics were actually hooked up to something that would
simply be wrong. Every Nic in a machine (wired or wireless doesn't matter)
has to be on a separate subnet. You do not have a 3-subnet LAN that I see
in your description. Even if you did have a 3-subnet LAN it still would not
matter,...a machine is to have only one Default Gateway. Traffic destined
for a network that is not "directly connected" to the machine or does not
have a Static Route set will always use the Nic with the Default Gateway.

Also when a VPN is activated it becomes the Default Path for the entire
machine and odd things can happen if you activate more than one VPN at the
same time.

So, no,..you cannot do what you are asking.

On top of all that,..there is no point and no benefit in doing what you are
asking even if it was possible. TCP/IP traffic does not flow over a
connection in that manner,..it flows over the path according to decisions
based on Routing Tables, Nic binding, and protocol behavior (IP in this
case)


--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

"mtangorre" <mtangorre@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:614f74a3-6206-4f28-8d81-9663a5963624@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Hello.
>
> Here is a brief run-down on what I would like to accomplish. If you
> have any insight you could share, I would be very appreciative. In
> addition, If additional hardware would make things easier, do mention
> that as well.
>
> My home PC has three network interfaces: 1 D-Link Wireless and 2
> gigabit ethernet cards. I have a Linksys cable modem that I connect up
> to my D-Link DIR-625 wireless router.
>
> I work from home a lot and need to connect up to various VPNs
> throughout the day. I would like to get things setup so that the
> traffic for VPN-1 goes over one of the gigabit ethernet adapters and
> traffic for VPN-2 goes over the other. All remaining traffic would go
> over the wireless interface. I do know the various IPs/IP ranges for
> each network that I VPN to if that should help.
>
> Currently, I assign each NIC a static IP and I also have a static IP
> on my cable connection into my home. One of the VPN connections uses
> the CISCO VPN client, one uses the SonicWall Global VPN Client, and to
> throw a kink into the mix here, sometimes I connect up to my employers
> L2TP-IPSec VPN using the connection I setup in Windows Vista Ultimate.
>
> Is what I am looking to do even possible? I am not well skilled in
> this level of Networking but I have been reading up on a few possible
> solutions, or partial solutions. Adding routes to the Windows route
> table? Get a switch? Get another router?
>
> Thanks for taking the time to assist.
>
> -Mike

This sounds like a great opportunity for someone to take on this challenge and create some hardware and software that will do this and maybe change some current restrictions, since I and many others have the same requirements.