VPN connecting but browser won't use it. [SOLVED]

[caitifty]

On a new install of Mint 16 I've been able to get VPN to work using the openconnect plugin. However I don't seem to be able to actually use the created VPN connection via a browser.

Prior to initiating the vpn connection, ifconfig shows I have one wireless connection via wlan0, with a natted ip address from my router. http://ipecho.net or a similar service shows my external ip is in the nextblock provided by my isp. After successfully connecting to the VPN through the netwoprk manager, ifconfig shows two connections - the original wlan0 connection, and a new vpn0 connection. The vpn0 connection shows an inet address in the netblock of the organization providing the vpn service.

However, if I open a browser and go to a resource only available to someone via the vpn, it insists I don't have access. http://ipecho.net or similar services still show my external IP address as the one provided by my ISP rather than the one provided by the VPN connection.

What am I missing? What do I need to do to make requests from my browser go through the vpn connection? It all 'just worked' in my last install (Mint 15) so I obviously missed something this time around..

Thanks in advance.

[twinkel]

Could it be that you have a proxy configured in your browser?

In order to circumvent potential dns issues I would start with pinging a host (by referring its ip, not its name) at the other end of the vpn. If that does not reply, you need to investigate your routing table (with route -n).

[caitifty]

The browser wasn't running through a proxy, but your suggestion to look at rounte -n, plus some googling, led me to a solution (or at least a workaround) - comments here http://preview.tinyurl.com/o6o8tdq led me to using the following to force all traffic through the vpn gateway:

Code: Select all

sudo route add -net 0.0.0.0/0 vpn0

If I can work out why setting up the vpn connection in the network manager didn't add the route, or how to fix it, I'll post here.

[caitifty]

Ok, now I've really solved it. When creating the vpn connection in network manager (or editing it later), under the IPV4 settings tab (and presumably the IPV6 settings tabe if you're on some fancy futuristic network), click the 'routes' button and uncheck the 'Use this connection only for resources on its network' button.

The problem was I am using the vpn connection not to get to resources on my institution's network, but to access resources my institution's library has purchased access rights to, where access is determined by IP address.