Modules - VPN Server - OpenVPN

Overview

The OpenVPN server is a secure and cost effective way to provide road warrior VPN connectivity. The OpenVPN client is available at no cost. Unlike the PPTP VPN server, OpenVPN is more robust in getting through other firewalls and gateway.

Installation

If you did not select this module to be included during the installation process, you must first install the module.

Configuration

Configuring the Server

Organization Information

Before you can configure OpenVPN, you will be directed to the Organization configuration page in the web-based administration tool. The information provided on this page does four important:

• Initializes LDAP
• Creates the required certificate authority
• Creates the required server certificate
• Creates the default data (e.g. city, country, company, etc.) when adding new users

We certainly do not track this information, but you will see these details in security certificates (for example, the one used for HTTPS connections to the web-based administration). If you allow remote access to the web-based administration tool (or webmail), you should know that this information is publicly available. Feel free to create fake details about your organization, but something must be provided.

Domain

The default domain used by the OpenVPN client.

WINS Server

The Microsoft Networking WINS server used by the OpenVPN client. Depending on your network configuration, you may need to specify the WINS settings in VPN client configuration.

DNS Server

The DNS server used by the OpenVPN client.

Manage User Accounts

Users must be configured with OpenVPN access. To manage users, go to the Users page in the web-based configuration tool. When a user is created, a certificate key/pair that is required for the OpenVPN system is created.

Configuring the Client

To configure the Windows OpenVPN client:

• Download and install the client software (download).

• Login to the web-based administration tool as the OpenVPN user (not the root/administrator account!)

• Go to the Account Manager > Security and Keys page in the web-based administration tool. You will need to download the certificate, certificate authority, key and the OpenVPN configuration file into the "configuration" directory on your Windows system.