Changes
OpenVPN server on Windows (view source)
Revision as of 01:30, 28 November 2020
, 01:30, 28 November 2020Added the bottom 3 bulleted lines in Step 4. Made major changes to Step 5, especially saying to ignore the first half of the linked "OpenVPN client on Windows" page. No need to work with EasyRSA on the client machines - just import the relevant files from the server machine. I have completed the VPN configuration and tested successfully.
'''Prerequisites''':
'''Prerequisites''':
* A PC or Laptop running on Windows 7 or a later version
*A PC or Laptop running on Windows 7 or a later version
* The computer in question must have a '''[[Private_and_Public_IP_Addresses#Public_IP_address|Public IP address]]'''
*The computer in question must have a '''[[Private_and_Public_IP_Addresses#Public_IP_address|Public IP address]]'''
* And an active Internet connection
*And an active Internet connection
----
----
'''Objective''':
'''Objective''':
In this section we'l be discussing how to configure an OpenVPN Tunnel (TUN) server that uses:
In this section we'l be discussing how to configure an OpenVPN Tunnel (TUN) server that uses:
* The UDP protocol
* TLS authentication
*The UDP protocol
*TLS authentication
As a template, we'll be using the sample configuration file that comes along with the OpenVPN installation, but we'll be adding with some minor changes to it. You can find it in the ''OpenVPN'' installation directory, ''sample-config'' folder (default: ''C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\sample-config'') under the name '''''server.ovpn'''''.
As a template, we'll be using the sample configuration file that comes along with the OpenVPN installation, but we'll be adding with some minor changes to it. You can find it in the ''OpenVPN'' installation directory, ''sample-config'' folder (default: ''C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\sample-config'') under the name '''''server.ovpn'''''.
<li>Added ''client-config-dir'' option for possible TLS client configuration</li>
<li>Added ''client-config-dir'' option for possible TLS client configuration</li>
<li>Changed the ''ifconfig-pool-persist'' file path</li>
<li>Changed the ''ifconfig-pool-persist'' file path</li>
<li>Changes to the certificate and key file paths</li>
<li>Changes to the certificate and key file paths</li><li>Note: cipher AES-256-CBC is deprecated in v.2.5. Change CBC to GCM
</li><li>You can harden (add security) to the VPN by creating a ta.key file on the server, placing it in the config folder and copying it to the config folder of all client machines.
</li><li>Edit the server.ovpn file found in the OpenVPN/sample-config folder. Lines that begin with # or ; will be ignored.) Feel free to change it however you want.</li></ul>
</li></ul>
</ul>
==Step 5: configuring clients==
==Step 5: configuring clients==
Install OpenVPN on all client machines, but omit Steps 2, 3 and 4 above. Just copy the ca.crt , client.crt and client.key files already created on the server machine in Step 4 above to the config folder of the relevant client machine.
The next step is to create a configuration file for the clients. Edit the client.ovpn file found in the sample-config folder and save it. Now open the separate article: '''[[OpenVPN client on Windows]],''' but note that only the latter part is relevant to this page. Begin at the line "• Save the file with an '''.ovpn''' extension."
Note: The edited client.ovpn file can be copied to all the client machines unless specific changes need to be made.
==Step 6: launching the server==
==Step 6: launching the server==
==See also==
==See also==
* [[OpenVPN client on Windows]]
*[[OpenVPN client on Windows]]
* [[OpenVPN configuration examples]]
*[[OpenVPN configuration examples]]
* [[OpenVPN traffic split]]
*[[OpenVPN traffic split]]
==External links==
==External links==
* OpenVPN downloads: https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html
*OpenVPN downloads: https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html
* OpenVPN manual: https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/manuals.html
*OpenVPN manual: https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/manuals.html
* Notepad++ downloads: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.5.8.html
*Notepad++ downloads: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.5.8.html