Template:Networking rut manual vpn

Summary

Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a method of connecting multiple private networks across the Internet. VPNs can serve to achieve many different goals, but some of its main purposes are:

• access between remote private networks;
• data encryption;
• anonymity when browsing the Internet.

This page is an overview of different types of VPNs supported by {{{name}}} routers.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN is an open-source software application that implements virtual private network (VPN) techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It is often regarding as being the most universal VPN protocol because of its flexibility, support of SSL/TLS security, multiple encryption methods, many networking features and compatibility with most OS platforms.

{{{name}}} routers run OpenVPN version 2.4.5.

For more in-depth guides refer to our OpenVPN configuration examples page.

OpenVPN client

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An OpenVPN client is an entity that initiates a connection to an OpenVPN server. To create a new server intance, go to the Services → VPN → OpenVPN section, select Role: Client, enter a custom name and click "Add New". An OpenVPN client instance with the given name will appear in the "OpenVPN Configuration list". A maximum of six OpenVPN client instances are allowed to be added.

To begin configuration, click the "Edit" button next to the client instance. Refer to the figure and table below for information on the OpenVPN client's configuration fields:

[[File:{{{file_openvpn_client_config}}}]]

Field name	Value	Description
Enable	yes | no; Default: no	Turns the OpenVPN instance ON or OFF
TUN/TAP	TUN (tunnel) | TAP (bridged); Default: TUN (tunnel)	Virtual network device type. TUN - a virtual point-to-point IP link which operates at the network layer (OSI layer 3), generally used when routing is required TAP - a virtual Ethernet adapter (switch), operates at the data link layer (OSI layer 2), generally used when bridging is required
Protocol	UDP | TCP; Default: UDP	Transfer protocol used for the connection. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) - most commonly used protocol in the Internet protocol suite. It ensures the recipient will receive packets in the order they were sent by numbering, analysing response messages, checking for errors and resending them if an issue occurs. It should be used when reliability is crucial (for example, file transfer) User Datagram Protocol (UDP) - packets are sent to the recipient without error-checking or back-and-forth quality control, meaning that when packets are lost, they are gone forever. This makes it less reliable but faster than TCP; therefore, it should be used when transfer speed is crucial (for example, video streaming, live calls)
Port	integer [0..65535]; Default: 1194	TCP/UDP port number used for the connection. Make sure it matches the port number specified on the server side. When you enable the OpenVPN instance, a firewall rule allowing traffic on the selected port is automatically generated on the router
LZO	yes | no; Default: no	Enables LZO data compression
Encryption	DES-CBC 64 | RC2-CBC 128 | DES-EDE-CBC 128 | DES-EDE3-CBC 192 | DESX-CBC 192 | BF-CBC 128 | RC2-40-CBC 40 | CAST5-CBC 128 | RC2-40CBC 40 | CAST5-CBC 128 | RC2-64-CBC 64| AES-128-CBC 128 | AES-192-CBC 192 | AES-256-CBC 256 | none; Default: BF-CBC 128	Packet encryption algorithm
Authentication	TLS | Static Key | Password | TLS/Password; Default: TLS	Authentication mode, used to secure data sessions. Static key is a secret key used for server–client authentication. TLS authentication mode uses X.509 type certificates: Certificate Authority (CA) Client certificate Client key All mentioned certificates can be generated using OpenVPN or Open SSL utilities on any type of host machine. One of the most popular utilities used for this purpose is called Easy-RSA. Password is a simple username/password based authentication where the owner of the OpenVPN server provides the login data. TLS/Password uses both TLS and username/password authentication.
TLS: TLS cipher	All | DHE+RSA | Custom; Default: All	Packet encryption algorithm cipher
Remote host / IP address	ip; Default: none	IP address or hostname of an OpenVPN server
Resolve retry	integer | infinite; Default: infinite	In case server hostname resolve fails, this field indicates the amount of time (in seconds) to retry the resolve. Specify infinite to retry indefinitely
Keep alive	two integers separated by a space; Default: none	Defines two time intervals: one is used to periodically send ICMP request to the OpenVPN server, the other defines a time window, which is used to restart the OpenVPN service, if no ICMP response is received during the window time slice. Example: 10 120
Static key: Local tunnel endpoint IP	ip; Default: none	OpenVPN IP address of the local network interface
Static key: Remote tunnel endpoint IP	ip; Default: none	OpenVPN IP address of the remote network (server) interface
Remote network IP address	ip; Default: none	LAN IP address of the remote network (client)
Remote network IP netmask	netmask; Default: none	LAN IP subnet mask of the remote network (client)
Password: User name	string; Default: none	User name used for authentication to the OpenVPN server
Password: Password	string; Default: none	Password name used for authentication to the OpenVPN server
Extra options	string; Default: none	Extra options to be used by the OpenVPN instance
TLS/Password: HMAC authentication algorithm	none | SHA1 | SHA256 | SHA384 | SHA512; Default: SHA1	HMAC authentication algorithm type
TLS/Password: Additional HMAC authentication	yes | no; Default: no	An additional layer of HMAC authentication on top of the TLS control channel to protect against DoS attacks
TLS/Password: HMAC authentication key	.key file; Default: none	Uploads an HMAC authentication key file
TLS/Password: HMAC key direction	0 | 1 | none; Default: 1	The value of the key direction parameter should be complementary on either side (client and server) of the connection. If one side uses 0, the other side should use 1, or both sides should omit the parameter altogether
TLS/Password: Certificate authority	.ca file; Default: none	Certificate authority is an entity that issues digital certificates. A digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate
TLS: Client certificate	.crt file; Default: none	Client certificate is a type of digital certificate that is used by client systems to make authenticated requests to a remote server. Client certificates play a key role in many mutual authentication designs, providing strong assurances of a requester's identity
TLS: Client key	.key file; Default: none	Authenticates the client to the server and establishes precisely who they are
TLS: Private key decryption password (optional)	string; Default: none	A password used to decrypt the server's private key. Use only if server's .key file is encrypted with a password
Static key: Static pre-shared key	.key file; Default: none	Uploads a secret key file used for server–client authentication

• Additional note 1: some parameters become available only when a certain authentication type is selected. The names of the parameters are followed by a prefix that specifies the authentication type under which they become visible. Different color codes are used for different praefixa:
  • Red for TLS
  • Purple for Static key
  • Blue for Password
• Additional note 2: after changing any of the parameters, don't forget to click the Save button located at the bottom-left of the page.

OpenVPN server

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An OpenVPN server is an entity that waits for incoming connections from OpenVPN clients. To create a new server intance, go to the Services → VPN → OpenVPN section, select Role: Server, enter a custom name and click "Add New". An OpenVPN server instance with the given name will appear in the "OpenVPN Configuration list". Only one OpenVPN server instance is allowed to be added.

A server needs to have a public IP address in order to be available from the public network (the Internet).

To begin configuration, click the "Edit" button next to the server instance. Refer to the figure and table below for information on the OpenVPN server's configuration fields:

[[File:{{{file_openvpn_server_config}}}]]

Field name	Value	Description
Enable	yes | no; Default: no	Turns the OpenVPN instance ON or OFF
TUN/TAP	TUN (tunnel) | TAP (bridged); Default: TUN (tunnel)	Virtual network device type. TUN - a virtual point-to-point IP link which operates at the network layer (OSI layer 3), generally used when routing is required TAP - a virtual Ethernet adapter (switch), operates at the data link layer (OSI layer 2), generally used when bridging is required
Protocol	UDP | TCP; Default: UDP	Transfer protocol used for the connection. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) - most commonly used protocol in the Internet protocol suite. It ensures the recipient will receive packets in the order they were sent by numbering, analysing response messages, checking for errors and resending them if an issue occurs. It should be used when reliability is crucial (for example, file transfer) User Datagram Protocol (UDP) - packets are sent to the recipient without error-checking or back-and-forth quality control, meaning that when packets are lost, they are gone forever. This makes it less reliable but faster than TCP; therefore, it should be used when transfer speed is crucial (for example, video streaming, live calls)
Port	integer [0..65535]; Default: 1194	TCP/UDP port number used for the connection. Make sure it matches the port number specified on the server side. When you enable the OpenVPN instance, a firewall rule allowing traffic on the selected port is automatically generated on the router
LZO	yes | no; Default: no	Enables LZO data compression
Encryption	DES-CBC 64 | RC2-CBC 128 | DES-EDE-CBC 128 | DES-EDE3-CBC 192 | DESX-CBC 192 | BF-CBC 128 | RC2-40-CBC 40 | CAST5-CBC 128 | RC2-40CBC 40 | CAST5-CBC 128 | RC2-64-CBC 64| AES-128-CBC 128 | AES-192-CBC 192 | AES-256-CBC 256 | none; Default: BF-CBC 128	Packet encryption algorithm
Authentication	TLS | Static Key | TLS/Password; Default: TLS	Authentication mode, used to secure data sessions. Static key is a secret key used for server–client authentication. TLS authentication mode uses X.509 type certificates: Certificate Authority (CA) Client certificate Client key All mentioned certificates can be generated using OpenVPN or Open SSL utilities on any type of host machine. One of the most popular utilities used for this purpose is called Easy-RSA. TLS/Password uses both TLS and username/password authentication.
Static key: Local tunnel endpoint IP	ip; Default: none	OpenVPN IP address of the local network interface
Static key: Remote tunnel endpoint IP	ip; Default: none	OpenVPN IP address of the remote network (server) interface
Static key: Remote network IP address	ip; Default: none	LAN IP address of the remote network (client)
Static key: Remote network IP netmask	netmask; Default: none	LAN IP subnet mask of the remote network (client)
TLS/TLS/Password: TLS cipher	All | DHE+RSA | Custom; Default: All	Packet encryption algorithm cipher
TLS/TLS/Password: Client to client	yes | no; Default: no	Allows OpenVPN clients to communicate with each other on the VPN network
TLS/TLS/Password: Keep alive	two integers separated by a space; Default: none	Defines two time intervals: one is used to periodically send ICMP request by the client to the OpenVPN server, the other defines a time window, which is used to restart the OpenVPN service, if no ICMP response is received during the window time slice. Example: 10 120
TLS/TLS/Password: Vitual network IP address	ip; Default: none	IP address of the OpenVPN network
TLS/TLS/Password: Vitual network netmask	netmask; Default: none	Subnet mask of the OpenVPN network
TLS/TLS/Password: Push option	OpenVPN options; Default: none	Push options are a way to "push" routes and other additional OpenVPN options to connecting clients
TLS/TLS/Password: Allow duplicate certificates	yes | no; Default: no	When enabled allows multiple clients to connect using the same certificates
TLS/Password: User name	string; Default: none	User name used for authentication to the OpenVPN server
TLS/Password: Password	string; Default: none	Password name used for authentication to the OpenVPN server
Static key: Static pre-shared key	.key file; Default: none	Uploads a secret key file used for server–client authentication
TLS/TLS/Password: Certificate authority	.ca file; Default: none	Certificate authority is an entity that issues digital certificates. A digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate
TLS/TLS/Password: Server certificate	.crt file; Default: none	A type of digital certificate that is used to identify the OpenVPN server
TLS/TLS/Password: Server key	.key file; Default: none	Authenticates clients to the server
TLS/TLS/Password: Diffie Hellman parameters	.pem file; Default: none	DH parameters define how OpenSSL performs the Diffie-Hellman (DH) key-exchange
TLS/TLS/Password: CRL file (optional)	.pem file | .crl file; Default: none	A certificate revocation list (CRL) file is a list of certificates that have been revoked the the certificate authority (CA). It indicates which certificates are no longer acccepted by the CA and therefore cannot be authenticated to the server

• Additional note 1: some parameters become available only when a certain authentication type is selected. The names of the parameters are followed by a prefix that specifies the authentication type under which they become visible. Different color codes are used for different praefixa:
  • Red for TLS
  • Purple for Static key
  • Blue for TLS/Password
• Additional note 2: after changing any of the parameters, don't forget to click the Save button located at the bottom-left of the page.

TLS Clients

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TLS Clients is a way to differentiate clients by their Common Names (CN), which are found in the client certificate file. It can be used to assign specific VPN addresses to corresponding clients and bind them to their LAN addresses, making the server aware of which client has which LAN IP address.

The TLS Clients section can be found in the OpenVPN Server configuration window, provided that the OpenVPN server uses TLS or TLS/Password authentication methods. To create a new TLS client, type in the new client‘s name in the text field found bellow the TLS Clients tab and press the "Add" button. Refer to the figure and table below for information on the TLS Clients' configuration fields:

[[File:{{{file_openvpn_tls_clients_config}}}]]

Field name	Value	Description
VPN instance name	string; Default: none	With what VPN instance should the TLS Client be associated with. When left empty, this field filled automatically
Endpoint name	string; Default: none	A custom name for the client
Common name (CN)	string; Default: none	Client’s Common Name (CN) found in the client certificate file
Virtual local endpoint	ip; Default: none	Client’s local address in the virtual network
Virtual remote endpoint	ip; Default: none	Client’s remote address in the virtual network
Private network	ip; Default: none	Client’s private network (LAN) IP address
Private netmask	ip; Default: none	Client’s private network (LAN) IP netmask