So one Sunday evening back in February I decided to have a go setting up an OpenVPN client/server. This didn’t seem at the time to be a big task as I had done this before, and my memory was of it taking a while to do, but it wasn’t too hard.
Boy did it take longer than expected. I had forgotten how many different components there are to configure to get a VPN working. And in writing my notes I took my time to explore different options so that I got a proper handle on the system as a whole. It was up and running in a few days, but then to document it and complete all the “side quests” it too a few weeks.
The main elements are
- keys/certificates – how to get the server and client to communicating over an authenticated and secure channel
- server configuration – get the server listening for connections
- client configuration – bare configuration and .opvn configuraiton files.
- firewalls and routing – getting the traffic through any firewalls is pretty straightforward, but we’ll also need to route the traffic from the client, through the server and back out onto the internet.
- DNS
So note to future self, to get the client and server working with a basic configuration allow about 6-8 hours of free time. Read the guide for more information.
Note: The image banner is the choir screen from the cathedral of St John in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. Its currently in the V&A museum in the Medieval & Renaissance hall on the ground floor by the Cromwell Road entrance