Connection Management Overview

The Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) supports the use of Connection Manager to establish and maintain connections to your service. Previously, Dial-Up Networking connections were a primary method for establishing and maintaining connection capabilities for users. Connection Manager supports managed connections to the Internet or a corporate intranet, and it offers more features than standard Dial-Up Networking connections, including customization features, extensible functionality, greater scalability, and enhanced security.

Note Most of this chapter relates specifically to Connection Manager service profiles and connections, except where otherwise noted. All references to a "profile" in this chapter refer to a Connection Manager service profile. Unless otherwise specified, all references to an "installation package" in this chapter refer to an Internet Explorer installation package created by using the Internet Explorer Customization wizard.

Creating, customizing, and implementing your Connection Manager service profiles, discussed in the following six sections, includes:

• Using the CMAK wizard to create Connection Manager service profiles that present the image that you want to provide to your users - You can support managed dial-up access to Internet service providers (ISPs) and corporate networks, as well as establish virtual private network (VPN) connections to corporate networks, by creating custom Connection Manager service profiles. The scenarios provided in this section can assist you in determining how to effectively implement service profiles for these types of accounts.
• Using advanced customization techniques to provide additional functionality and features in your Connection Manager service profiles - Functions and features that cannot be customized by using the CMAK wizard can still be edited manually. You also can set up custom programs to run automatically during a user's connection to the service, and you can merge multiple phone books to provide maximum Points of Presence (POPs) for your users.
• Importing connection settings - By using the Internet Explorer Customization wizard, you can incorporate previously created connection settings from a Connection Manager connection, or from another Dial-Up Networking connection on your computer, to your installation package.
• Setting system policies and restrictions for connections, including Connection Manager connections - You can control the initial setup of automatic dialing for users. If you are a corporate administrator, you can specify whether users can change the connection settings for your service. Use the Internet Explorer Customization wizard to set these restrictions, but evaluate carefully how to specify these settings when implementing all of the procedures contained in this chapter.
• Using the Internet Connection wizard for signup and setup - You can use the Internet Connection wizard (ICW) to enable users to sign up for your service by using your online sign-up server. To simplify log on and connection for your users after they receive your installation package, you can also use the ICW to populate your Connection Manager service profile with the appropriate user data. Users who have the latest version of the ICW can even download an initial Connection Manager service profile from your sign-up or registration server.
• Customizing profile delivery and installation to meet other support requirements - If you want to distribute a Connection Manager service profile in an installation package other than the one you create by using the Internet Explorer Customization wizard, you can invoke command-line parameters from within your installation package to install Connection Manager as a part of that package.

Using the Connection Manager Administration Kit (CMAK) wizard, you can customize Connection Manager by creating service profiles that include the functions and look that you want for your service. When you run the CMAK wizard, it automatically builds a custom service profile. The profile is packaged in a self-installing executable file that, when installed by the user, appears to them as a customized version of Connection Manager and enables them to connect to your service.

Using the CMAK wizard, you specify the custom elements that you want Connection Manager to support, such as branded graphics; access numbers for dial-up connections; direct VPN connections; automatic programs (connect actions and automatic applications) that run during a connection; and other features specific to your service. You can include your custom Connection Manager service profile in an Internet Explorer installation package, so that both are automatically installed when your users install Internet Explorer.

Using the wizard to create a Connection Manager service profile is not difficult, but if you want to incorporate custom graphics and programs, many of the elements that you include must be developed before you run the wizard. The CMAK Guide provides a six-phase process that details how to create and implement a custom Connection Manager service profile and how to incorporate custom elements. The following six steps summarize this process:

• Phase 1 - Decide what you want to customize and document it by using the worksheet provided in the planning section.
• Phase 2 - Develop the custom elements, such as custom graphics, for your profile.
• Phase 3 - Run the CMAK wizard to build the profile.
• Phase 4 - Prepare for delivery, either as part of the IEAK installation package or as a separate installation package.
• Phase 5 - Test your deliverables and resolve problems before distribution.
• Phase 6 - Support your customers after distribution.

To access the CMAK Guide, click Help when you are running the CMAK wizard.

If you want to include your Connection Manager service profile in your Internet Explorer installation package, you can do so directly from the Internet Explorer Customization wizard. However, to ensure that the Connection Manager service profile works the way you want it to, it is recommended that you create and test the service profile before you include it in your custom installation package.

After you have created your Connection Manager service profiles, you may want to further customize them. Using advanced customization techniques to edit the service-profile files, you can further refine the service profiles by providing additional functionality, such as support for data encryption. You can also include your service profiles in another installation package by programmatically customizing installation options.