[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

OpenVPN Configuration:

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.

OpenVPN Client Configuration:

1. Download the keys.tgz with FTP client
2. Extract it in C:Program FilesOpenVPNconfig
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