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Windows 2003 can be configured as a VPN server that uses L2TP with a preshared key.
Windows 7 can be configured to accept incoming VPN connections, presumably using PPTP.

Is there a way to configure Windows 7 to accept incoming L2TP connections? The configuration settings for incoming connections is extremely sparse; I don't see any place to enter a preshared key or specify the protocol to use. Perhaps it is beyond the capabilities of Win 7, but I hold out hope that I'm overlooking some Group Policy settings or registry edits that allow it.

Greg
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    This might be a little late but I just saw this guy doing that in WinXP http://rotwhiler.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/windows-xp-pro-as-a-l2tp-ipsec-vpn-server/ plus I see a rule in windows 7 firewall about allowing remote access through L2TP... – Cristian T Feb 27 '12 at 15:07
  • @Cristian - Wow, that might actually be the answer. I wonder if it works for Windows 7 as the VPN server? I ended up using Windows 2008 R2 as the server instead of Windows 7, otherwise I would try it out. – Greg Feb 27 '12 at 23:15

1 Answers1

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It seems like this is possible after all.

See this article : How to Set up an incoming VPN on Windows 7.

There is also a youtube video tutorial : How To Setup VPN on Windows 7 as Home Solution.

Setting up an L2TP/SSL server on Windows 7 is not possible without third-party software.
The best known one is the open source OpenVPN project, where you should look at Access Server.
However, under Windows it is only available as a Virtual Appliance VHD, to be used with Virtual PC.

harrymc
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  • I read the guide and watched the video. Unfortunately those steps result in a VPN connection that uses PPTP. I'm inquiring specifically for setting up a connection that uses the more secure L2TP protocol. – Greg Sep 11 '10 at 03:54
  • See my above edit. – harrymc Sep 11 '10 at 14:00