14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Vista is by no means barefoot when it comes down to offering users out-of-the-box support for troubleshooting networking problems. For the most part, the Network and Sharing Center will do all the heavy lifting automatically and deal with networking glitches, but will also provide the necessary guidance for the end user to step in and contribute to regaining connectivity. At the basis of the the Network and Sharing Center is the Network Diagnostics Framework, a context-sensitive feature that is designed to troubleshoot common networking issues.
Still, even on Windows Vista there are scenarios where the default diagnosing components of the operating system will fail to do the trick. An illustrative example in this regard are network failures that have Internet Protocol security as their source. In this context, Microsoft is offering a free tool designed to permit Network administrators to identify and resolve network related failures, that are focused on IPsec. The Microsoft IPsec Diagnostic Tool is not limited at Windows Vista, but also comes with support for WindowsXP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.
"Microsoft IPsec Diagnostic Tool checks for common network problems on the host machine and if found, suggests repair commands. Further, it collects IPsec policy information on the system and parses the IPsec logs to deduce why a failure might have happened. Beyond IPsec, it offers trace collection for VPN, NAP client, Windows Firewall, Group policy updates, Wireless and System events. The Diagnostic Report generated by the tool is conclusive and is derived from the system logs collected by the tool during its analysis phase. These logs are self sufficient to diagnose any network related issues. For further assistance, the logs would require to be shared with Network Administrators or Microsoft support," reads an excerpt of the IPsec Diagnostic Tool overview.
According to Microsoft, Internet Protocol security (IPSec) is designed to deliver defense-in-depth against network-based attacks originated from untrusted machines. IPSec is highly configurable to meet specific security standards, and is designed to offer advanced protection against attack scenarios involving host-to-host virtual private network (VPN), site-to-site (gateway-to-gateway or router-to-router), and secure server environments.
"IPSec uses packet filtering and cryptography. Cryptography provides user authentication, ensures data confidentiality and integrity, and enforces trusted communication. The strong cryptographic-based authentication and encryption support that IPSec provides is especially effective for securing traffic that must traverse untrusted network paths, such as those on a large corporate intranet or the Internet. IPSec also is especially effective for securing traffic that uses protocols and applications that do not provide sufficient security for communications," Microsoft added.
The Microsoft IPsec Diagnostic Tool can be downloaded from here.