--- title: 'Tutorial: Connect Your Cisco Router to CloudConnexa with IPsec' canonical: https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/routers/tutorial--connect-your-cisco-router-to-cloudconnexa-with-ipsec/ product: CloudConnexa Docs description: Configure an IPsec tunnel between a Cisco router and CloudConnexa, including network setup, authentication, advanced settings, and connectivity verification. keywords: Cisco IPsec --- # Tutorial: Connect Your Cisco Router to CloudConnexa with IPsec This tutorial walks you through setting up an IPsec tunnel between your Cisco router and CloudConnexa. To complete this setup, you'll configure components on both the CloudConnexa side and your Cisco router, including: - A **Network in CloudConnexa** to represent your private network. - A **Network Connector** configured for IPsec. - Tunnel parameters such as authentication, encryption, and routing. - Your **Cisco router** using the provided configuration details. Once configured, users and networks connected to CloudConnexa can securely access resources in your private network. ## Before you begin - Ensure you have a [CloudConnexa account](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/owner/get-started/create-a-cloudconnexa-account.md) and Cloud ID. - Ensure your Cisco router supports IPsec. - Ensure you have access to your router configuration instance. ## Step 1: Create a Network in CloudConnexa 1. Sign in to the CloudConnexa Administration Portal using your WPC's **Cloud ID** address (for example, `yourcompany.openvpn.com`). 2. Navigate to **Networks → Networks**. 3. Click **Add Network**. 4. Select at least one **Network Scenario**. Refer to these tutorials for details: - [Add a Network for remote access](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/owner/networks/networks---networks/add-a-network-for-remote-access-using-the-network-wizard.md) - [Add a Network for secure internet access](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/owner/networks/networks---networks/add-a-network-for-secure-internet-access.md) - [Add a Network for secure internet access to select internet destinations](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/owner/networks/networks---networks/add-a-network-for-secure-internet-access-to-select-internet-destinations.md) - [Add a Network for site-to-site connectivity](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/owner/networks/networks---networks/add-a-network-for-site-to-site-connectivity.md) 5. Click **Continue**. 6. For the **Network Configuration**, enter a name and description (optional). 7. Select **IPsec** as the **Connector Tunneling Protocol**. 8. For the **Connector**, enter a name and description (optional). 9. Click **Next**. ## Step 2: Configure the Network Connector In the **Configure Network Connector** step, configure the IPsec Network Connector: 1. **Configure the platform:** In **Platform to Connect**, select **Cisco**. 2. In the **Set Up CloudConnexa Tunnel** section, configure the following: - For **CloudConnexa Public IP Address**, select a CloudConnexa data center IP address from the drop-down list. The list shows the IP addresses available in the region where the connector is being created, and one is preselected for you. > **Important** > > You can't change the selected public IP address after the connector is configured. To use a different data center, delete the connector and configure a new one. - For **Connector Public IP Address**, enter the public IP address of your IPsec endpoint. - For **Pre-shared Key**, enter the pre-shared key (PSK), and a hostname and domain for the connector. 3. (**Optional**) **Configure advanced settings:** Expand **Advanced Configuration** to customize IPsec parameters: - **IKE Version:** Select the version: IKEv1 or IKEv2. > **Tip** > > If using **IKEv2** and only GCM encryption algorithms (AES-128-GCM-16 and/or AES-256-GCM-16), the integrity algorithm and a DH group are optional in phase 2. > > For non-GCM encryption algorithms, an integrity algorithm and a DH group are required. The default values are applied automatically. - **Phase 1 settings:** | **Setting** | **Description** | | --- | --- | | **Encryption Algorithm** | Select one or more supported encryption algorithms. | | **Integrity Algorithm** | Select a supported integrity algorithm. | | **Diffie-Hellman Group** | Select a DH group supported by your device. | | **Lifetime (sec)** | Enter a value between **901 and 86400**. | - **Phase 2 settings:** | **Setting** | **Description** | | --- | --- | | **Encryption Algorithm** | Select one or more supported encryption algorithms. | | **Integrity Algorithm** | Select a supported integrity algorithm. | | **Diffie-Hellman Group** | Select a DH group supported by your device. | | **Lifetime (sec)** | Enter a value between **900 and 28800**. | - **IKE rekey settings:** | **Setting** | **Description** | | --- | --- | | **Rekey Margin Time (sec)** | Value between **60 and half of Phase 2 lifetime**. | | **Rekey Fuzz (%)** | Value between **0 and 100**. | | **Replay Window Size (packets)** | Value between **64 and 2048**. | - **Connection behavior:** | **Setting** | **Description** | | --- | --- | | **Startup Action** | Controls which side initiates the IPsec tunnel. Start makes CloudConnexa initiate the connection; Attach waits for the remote peer to connect. | | **CloudConnexa Connection Restoration** | Controls whether the tunnel automatically reconnects if interrupted: Defaults to **Yes** when Startup Action = **Start**. Automatically set to **No** when Startup Action = **Attach** and can't be changed. | ## Step 3: Review remote tunnel configuration CloudConnexa provides configuration details required for your network router. 1. Locate the **Remote Tunnel Configuration** section. 2. Note the values provided for: - Firewall configuration. - IPsec tunnel parameters. - Connection initiation and restoration parameters. - Static routes. - DNS settings. 3. Keep this information available for configuring your router. ## Step 4: Configure your network router 1. Use the values from the **Remote Tunnel Configuration** section to configure your IPsec device. ## Step 5: Verify connectivity After configuring both sides of the tunnel, verify that the connection is established. 1. In the **Verify Connectivity** section, click **Test Connection**. CloudConnexa attempts to establish a connection to your remote network. 2. Check the connection status: - **Connected** — The tunnel is successfully established. - **Offline** — The connection failed or hasn't been established yet. > **Tip** > > If the connection status is **Offline**: > > - Click **View Logs** to review connection details. > - Verify the following: > - PSK matches on both sides. > - IPsec parameters (encryption, DH group, lifetimes) are aligned. > - Firewall rules allow IPsec traffic. > - The correct public IP address is configured. ## Step 6: Complete the setup 1. Click **Finish** to complete the Network configuration. 2. Confirm that: - The Network is created. - The Connector shows a **Connected** status. ## Related Resources - [Configure a Generic IPsec Tunnel From Your Private Network to CloudConnexa](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/ipsec/tutorial--configure-a-generic-ipsec-tunnel-from-your-private-network-to-cloudconnexa.md) - [Connect Your Cisco Router to CloudConnexa with IPsec](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/routers/tutorial--connect-your-cisco-router-to-cloudconnexa-with-ipsec.md) - [Connect AWS VPC to CloudConnexa with IPsec using Transit Gateway](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/iaas/tutorial--connect-aws-vpc-to-cloudconnexa-with-ipsec-using-transit-gateway.md) - [Connect AWS to CloudConnexa with IPsec using VPG](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/iaas/tutorial--connect-aws-to-cloudconnexa-with-ipsec-using-vpg.md) - [Connect Azure to CloudConnexa with IPsec](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/iaas/tutorial--connect-azure-to-cloudconnexa-with-ipsec.md) - [Connect Your GCP VPC to CloudConnexa using IPsec](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/iaas/tutorial--connect-your-gcp-vpc-to-cloudconnexa-using-ipsec.md) - [Video: Configure an IPsec connection to your AWS VPC](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/videos/configuration/connectors/video--configure-an-ipsec-connection-to-your-aws-vpc.md) - [Video: Configure an IPsec connection to your AWS VPC using Transit Gateway](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/videos/configuration/connectors/video--configure-an-ipsec-connection-to-your-aws-vpc-using-transit-gateway.md) - [Video: Configure an IPsec connection to your Azure VNet](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/videos/configuration/connectors/video--configure-an-ipsec-connection-to-your-azure-vnet.md) - [Video: Configure an IPsec connection to your GCP VPC](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/videos/configuration/connectors/video--configure-an-ipsec-connection-to-your-gcp-vpc.md) --- Prev: [Routers](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/routers.md) Next: [Tutorial: Configure a DD-WRT Router To Connect to CloudConnexa](https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/tutorials/configuration-tutorials/connectors/routers/tutorial--configure-a-dd-wrt-router-to-connect-to-cloudconnexa.md) Index: https://openvpn.net/cloud-docs/llms.txt