Initiating VPN connection kills RDP connection

I am connecting via RDP to a Windows 7 Professional machine. I use that machine for its data/programs, but at times I also need to (within the RDP connection) connect to a VPN (configured via L2TP/IPSec), not on my client.

The problem is the VPN seems to take over all traffic, so I then lose my RDP connection.

What sort of network configuration (I'm thinking virtual adapters of some sort or the routing table) could I use to get around this?

Solution 1:

I guess this might be fixed by simply disabling the option "Use default gateway on remote network" of the Windows VPN client. In XP that was hidden in the properties of your VPN network, tabsheet "Networking", "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)", clicking "Properties", and finally clicking "Advanced".

That also means that most other traffic is no longer routed through the VPN. This includes browsing of websites, fetching email through POP or IMAP, and so on.

(However, it is enabled by default for a reason: it makes it a bit harder for malware to keep or reestablish connections once VPN is started, if the VPN administrator has blocked their network for such threats. Also, a company's policy might not allow you to disable it.)

Solution 2:

This was rather easy, just had to find the "Use default gateway for remote connection" option and uncheck it. This option was previously more prominent in Windows XP, but is just a little harder to navigate to in Windows 7.

It is located by accesing the properties of the VPN connection and navigating to Networking -> TCP/IP v4 -> Advanced and unchecking "Use default..."

As noted this has security implications and I lost some of the functionality of the VPN (shares). I would really like someone to show how to simply have the RDP connection itself persist via the current network connection, and continue using the VPN on the rest of the time. Bonus if the VPN connection is terminated if the RDP connection terminates?