Reference Manual

HOW TO start a RAS connection within the NAT32 Service.
HOW TO generate a "Locked Closet" System.

When the NAT32 service starts, the normal Windows dialing mechanisms may not be available, depending on the account under which the service was configured to run.

For "locked closet" systems, this problem can be overcome as follows:

Add the following line to the start of the NAT32 startup file:
exec rasdial.exe MyConnection Usercode Password
If required, also add the following line to the NAT32 onexit file:
exec rasdial.exe MyConnection /disconnect
MyConnection is the name of the connection you wish to dial, Usercode is the usercode for the connection, and Password is the plaintext password for the connection. When the NAT32 service starts, it will then dial the specified connection, irrespective of the account under which it is running. When the service stops, the connection will be closed, if you added the optional entry to the onexit file.

Note that the NAT32 service can be started and stopped using the Service Control Manager (sc.exe or services.msc) or the Control Panel, Services Applet.

A connection established in this manner will not survive a logoff. In other words, if a user logs on to the system and subsequently logs off again, the RAS Connection will be closed. To fix this, add the following value to the Registry, set it to 1 and then reboot:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
        KeepRasConnections REG_SZ
        Range: 0 or 1
        Default: 0 (disabled)

Finally, please be sure that the NAT32 Service is running without Desktop Interaction enabled, otherwise it will be terminated when a user logs off.

SEE ALSO

Running NAT32 as a Service
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