juniper VPN

[denti]

Hi folks, wondering if you might be able to help me out

for the life of me, i cannot get juniper vpn network connect to work on mint 13. I had it working no problem on mint 12 but there seems to be something in 13 that's broken.

since mint 13 is based on Ubuntu 12, i've installed ubuntu 12 and got my juniper VPN to work.

Would anyone be able to point me to where i might look or fix this problem? I've searched high and low looking for a solution but i'm almost positive it's an issue with MINT 13 as I had it working on MINT 12 and i've got it working on Ubuntu 12.

thank you

[denti]

ok now i'm thinking the problem is with MATE.

I've installed MATE 1.2 on ubuntu to get rid of stupid unity and now i'm getting the same symptoms as mint 13 with mate. going back to unity, i'm able to connect without any issues.

guess i'll open a bug report with MATE

[denti]

Ok, i now don't beleive it's with MATE.

Installed MINT 13 cinnimon and getting same... tried to start in gnome classic and same thing. guess i'm going back to MINT 12 until this issue can be resolved

[questionablemoose]

I know this thread is old, but it must exist.

I got Juniper VPN working on Mint 13 i386. The issue isn't with MATE, it's a series of issues with Java, Mint, and Juniper's client.

Step one may not be necessary. I've been in the habit of removing OpenJDK as soon as possible, and replacing it with sun-java in order to get Juniper VPN working. Subsequently, I didn't even bother to wonder if OpenJDK is finally to the point where it works with the Juniper client.

1. Purge OpenJDK, install Oracle Java. Through the package manager is the best way as usual. Follow the instructions here http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-oracle-java-7-in-ubuntu-12-04.html.

2. Add xterm. It's not installed by default and Network Connect requires it.

Code: Select all

user@host ~ $ sudo apt-get install xterm

3. Under FireFox, you'll probably notice that once you authenticate, the Network Connect viewer appears and then just vanishes for no reason. I couldn't find any errors in the Network Connect logs, but I did notice that the ncsvc.log just kinda stopped right around where it was setting DNS servers. Mint 13 doesn't have /etc/resolv.conf. In order to fix, simply:

Code: Select all

user@host ~ $ sudo touch /etc/resolv.conf

You should be able to use the client now without any issues.

The downside is that adding resolv.conf is not the Ubuntu Way™, so at best this can be considered a workaround. It seems to work fine on my system so far, and nothing seems to be broken. If you find yourself experiencing DNS issues during a VPN session or after a VPN session, check there first.

[denti]

aahhh.. the touch resolv.conf that's one thing i didn't do.

what i did was.

install java from orcale think it was 1.7

added the plugins to the browser

installed xterm

got as far as as authenticating but that wee pop up window comes up and then disappears. I'll try doing the touch and see if it works

think it all makes sense now as the new ubuntu/ mint does not use the resolv.conf file anymore but instead it's using the resolvconf package.

though it still makes me wondering why it would all work in ubuntu 12 but not in mint if mint is based on ubuntu 12.

much appreciated questionablemoose

[questionablemoose]

Awesome. Let me know if it works, I'm curious as to whether that was actually the resolution.

I checked with a coworker who has 12.04 installed. He indicated that the resolv setup is just like Mint (I haven't seen this with my own eyes, so I consider this second hand information). I have no idea why it would work on Ubuntu and not Mint.

Maybe Ubuntu has a legacy /etc/resolv.conf either sym linked to the correct file, or with a deprecation message. The presence of the file is good enough for Network Connect, I think.

[johnpc831]

Yes!!! I have been battling this issue for at least a month... so many hours lost. And now I learn all I needed to do was create an /etc/resolv.conf.

Well I did that and netconnect is finally working! I can't tell you how close I was to just scraping Maya and installing Ubuntu 12.04 again even though it works horribly on my machine for some reason.

Thanks a bunch!

[questionablemoose]

Yes!!! I have been battling this issue for at least a month... so many hours lost. And now I learn all I needed to do was create an /etc/resolv.conf.

Well I did that and netconnect is finally working! I can't tell you how close I was to just scraping Maya and installing Ubuntu 12.04 again even though it works horribly on my machine for some reason.

Thanks a bunch!

Glad to be of help.

Juniper VPN is always a battle to get working due to their abysmal Linux support. CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu were all different to get Network Connect working and each one a fine pain in the ass.

With any luck, Juniper will get their act together and just write something that actually works.

For any issues you have with Network Connect, check the log files in ~./juniper and /tmp. They usually point you in the right direction.

[denti]

well, i had Mint 13 and your fix definatly worked.

installed ubuntu 12.04 and it seems like it's not working now.... maybe i loaded something else in and didn't realize but

sudo touch /etc/resolv.conf definatly works

much appreciated for your help

[alborz]

questionablemoose, you are awesome! I was so frustrated making juniper vpn work under mint 13 that I was close to give up. Thanks a million.