Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client - Known Issues at MIT

The following issues were found when testing the Cisco AnyConnect VPN in the MIT environment. For issues identified by the vendor, see Cisco Systems' Release Notes for Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client

• Many times the VPN auto-installer does not succeed in installing VPN software on the first try due to how the installer looks for certificates and when the site is added to your list of trusted sites. Click retry at least once before giving up and manually installing the software. It frequently works on the second attempt.

• When connecting to the VPN, all network connections will become severed for a few seconds. This means that programs which rely on a persistent network connection (e.g., instant messaging programs, file transfer programs) may lose their connection and you may need to manually reconnect some programs. Therefore, it is recommended that you close any open applications prior to launching VPN.

• Starting or stopping the VPN will disrupt existing SSH sessions. This happens because the VPN changes your computer's IP address. Make sure you log out of any SSH sessions before starting or stopping the VPN.

• Upon reconnecting to the VPN from off campus, you may be prompted for Kerberos tickets even though you already obtained them. You may also see the "Lost contact with the security gateway" error message. When the VPN connection is started the IP address list on the machine will change, which may invalidate the tickets. If the tickets cannot be renewed automatically by the Leash program, you will be prompted to obtain new tickets which are valid for the VPN connection.

• Accessibility issue: Screen reader users must use Internet Explorer to successfully run the web-based VPN service. The web-based VPN service does not support screen readers with other browsers.

• Not connecting on some Mac OSX versions, is a problem caused by a space in the user home folder. More info: [hd:AnyConnect Cisco VPN - percent signs] Note: this link contains internal material only accessible by Help Staff at MIT.