How can I programmatically connect to a VPN?

Question

I have a VPN connection that I keep losing, that I need to connect to our DB server, but every second or third connection fails because I have lost the VPN connection. I'd like to add somde code - for DEBUG config only - to check the VPN connection and reconnect if necessary, before proceeding to attempt the database connection.

Solution

You could use System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping to check if the connection is up - then rasdial to reconnect the vpn if the connection is lost.

eg

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("rasdial.exe", "VPNName Username Password"); 

You can also disconnect the VPN using

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("rasdial.exe", "VPNName /d"); 

Update

Calling rasdial with no arguments returns a list of open connections - might be a more robust solution for you.