October 6, 2010 by Ivan Kristianto

[HowTo] Install Configure OpenVPN On Ubuntu

“OpenVPN is a free and open source software application that implements virtual private network (VPN) solutions for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses SSL/TLS security for encryption and is capable of traversing network address translators (NATs) and firewalls. It was written by James Yonan and is published under the GNU General Public License (GPL).” (Cite from Linux Security).

So with OpenVPN you can create a secure private network using internet connection. OpenVPN uses the OpenSSL library to provide encryption of both the data and control channels and transmitted data. OpenVPN work in multi platform. So once the server is setup and configured (i suggest use Linux), the client can connect from any platform (Windows, Mac OS, And Linux).

To install OpenVPN on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install openvpn libssl-dev openssl

Configure it:
1. Copy the easy-rsa to openvpn folder:

cd /etc/openvpn/
cp -r /usr/share/doc/openvpn/examples/easy-rsa/2.0/* /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/
chown -R $USER /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/

2. Create the server certificates:

cd /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/
source vars
./clean-all
./build-dh
./pkitool --initca
./pkitool --server server
cd keys
openvpn --genkey --secret ta.key
cp server.crt server.key ca.crt dh1024.pem ta.key /etc/openvpn/

3. Create the client certificates:

cd /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/
source vars
./pkitool hostname
cd ..

Change hostname to your client hostname
4. Compress the client certificate:

tar czf keys.tgz ca.crt ta.key easy-rsa/keys/hostname.crt easy-rsa/keys/hostname.key

5. Download the keys.tgz and extract it under your openvpn client.
6. Configure /etc/openvpn/server.conf

cp /usr/share/doc/openvpn/examples/sample-config-files/server.conf.gz /etc/openvpn/
gzip -d /etc/openvpn/server.conf.gz

edit server.conf

dev tun
server 10.10.0.0 255.255.255.0
ifconfig-pool-persist ipp.txt
ca ca.crt
cert server.crt
key server.key
dh dh1024.pem
push "route 10.10.0.0 255.255.255.0"
push "redirect-gateway"
comp-lzo
keepalive 10 60
ping-timer-rem
persist-tun
persist-key
user nobody
group nobody
daemon

7. Start openvpn server

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward #enable ip forwarding
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 10.10.0.0/24 -o venet0 -j MASQUERADE
iptables-save > /etc/iptables.conf
echo "#!/bin/sh" > /etc/network/if-up.d/iptables
echo "iptables-restore < /etc/iptables.conf" >> /etc/network/if-up.d/iptables
chmod +x /etc/network/if-up.d/iptables
echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf

then:

/etc/init.d/openvpn start

The OpenVPN server configuring finish, the next step is configure the client. In this example i’m using Windows Vista with OpenVPN client installed.
1. Download the keys.tgz with FTP client
2. Extract it in C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config\
3. Run openvpn-gui, and press connect.
4. You are connected to the OpenVPN, and you can share with the other client just like using a Lan Network over the internet.

Even there are lot of ways and configure options to make your OpenVPN work as you need, this is just a basic example that i do to create my own OpenVPN so i can test my programs. Wish this article is useful for you.

Thanks to:
Configure OpenVPN Ubuntu
vpsnoc.com

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Article by Ivan Kristianto

Ivan Kristianto is a profesional web developer and blogger. Very interest with free and open source software. Follow my Twitter: @ivankrisdotcom or Facebook profile IvanKristiantoBlog or Email me at ivan@ivankristianto.com

Category: Ubuntu
Tags: openvpn, openvpn download, openvpn howto, openvpn ubuntu, openvpn ubuntu 10.04, openvpn ubuntu tutorial, ubuntu, virtual private network, virtual private network software

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JavierSanchez 5 pts

Hmmm this article is for linux... then why are you telling us to open the openvpn-gui.exe in program files/iopenvpn? Thats just what I wanted to know how to do it in linux, I don't know where am I supposed to put my openvpn credentials

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