OpenVPN is one most modern open VPN software that runs on most
platforms such as Linux, Windows, MacOS. It allows you to setup VPN
connection from your location to your VPN server. This article explains how to install, configure, and run OpenVPN client software.
Installing
First
of all, you need to download and install OpenVPN client network software and
OpenVPN GUI so that you'll have easy tools to establish VPN connection.
You
need to create a new configuration file client.ovpn located in
C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config\, for example C:\Program
Files\OpenVPN\config\client.ovpn and put these lines into this configuration
file:
****************************************** remote remote_vpn_server tls-client dev tap ifconfig local_ip_address netmask ca ca.crt cert client.crt key client.key ping 10 verb 1 mute 10 comp-lzo ******************************************
Here's explanation of each configuration option:
remote_vpn_server
name of OpenVPN server
local_ip_address
local IP address
netmask
netmask of local IP address
client.crt
client's certificate
client.key
client's key
All this information should be provided by your system administrator.
Place these files client.crt
, client.csr, client.key, and ca.crt into directory C:\ProgramFiles\OpenVPN\config
Run OpenVPN GUI from "Start" -> "All programms" -> "OpenVPN" -> "OpenVPN GUI". After you run this software, you should see an icon OpenVPN in system tray. Click on mouse's right button and choose "Connect". After you click on it, it takes about 1 minute to establish connection.
Verification and troubleshooting.
If everything is correct, your computer should get new local_ip_address. To verify that, run ipconfig in command shell. If you still don't see that, open "Network Connections", find "Local Area Connection" with "TAP-WIN32" and check status of connection. If you see "Requesting IP address" running constantly, open "Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services", make sure
that the "DHCP Client Service" is started.
In our example, we used network 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0. Local IP address was 10.8.0.5 and server's VPN IP address was 10.8.0.1. If everything is correct, you should be able to ping server's VPN IP address (eg 10.8.0.1)
c:\ping 10.8.0.1
Pinging 10.8.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.8.0.1: bytes=32 time=329ms TTL=64 Reply from 10.8.0.1: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=64 Reply from 10.8.0.1: bytes=32 time=179ms TTL=64 Reply from 10.8.0.1: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=64
Ping statistics for 10.8.0.1: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 164ms, Maximum = 329ms, Average = 209ms
Commercial installation
If you're looking for a professional service to setup OpenVPN on your servers and clients, we're ready to help you.
Our installation service includes:
Installing and configuring OpenVPN software on your server
Generating up to 10 certificates for your remote workstations
Configuring firewall on your server to block dangerous attacks
We'll provide easy user's manual how to setup remote workstations
6 months free consulting and bug fixing
The whole installation and support package is only $495 one time fee.
Feel free to contact us to order this package or if you have any
questions at info@av5.com
Eng
Rus
