Configuring Routing and Remote Access Dial-Up Interfaces

This article will explain general configuration and usage of dial up links with Routing and Remote Access Service Update.

When a Routing and Remote Access Service router connects to another Routing and Remote Access router as a demand-dial router, both routers will obtain an IP address for their local WAN interface from the distant router. To establish this two-way address assignment, the interfaces need to be configured correctly.

When adding a demand-dial interface, the username, configured from the Interface Credentials screen, must match the name of the interface that you will be dialing into and be a valid RAS user account on that system or domain. If the username does not match the name of the interface, you will connect as a client and not as demand-dial. To verify the type of connection, click Active Ports and Connections in the tree view and look in the type column in the list view on both routers. The type will be client for normal PPP clients or demand-dial for Routing and Remote Access Service routers. The router's connections must show up as demand-dial for the routing protocols to run over the connection. The router being called also needs the appropriate interface credentials. The calling router will also try to validate the router being called. This mutual authentication can be turned on or off from the Security tab for the demand dial interface.

For example, you have a router in Portland and a router in Seattle. Both sides want the ability to demand-dial the other location. You could make one interface named PORT_SEATTLE on both routers. The username would also be PORT_SEATTLE for both routers. The username could be PORT_SEATTLE of the Portland Domain and PORT_SEATTLE of the Seattle Domain, or it could be a valid dial-in account on the local routers. In other words, even though the username is the same, it is not actually the exact same account.