Are you willing to setup OpenVPN on Linux? We can help you with it.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such Linux related installations as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today we’ll take a look at how to setup OpenVPN.

Know more about OpenVPN

The OpenVPN software bundle is an open-source Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN solution that accommodates a wide range of configurations. It mainly comprises of three parts. They are OpenVPN-AS Server, Admin Web Interface/Admin GUI, and Connection Client.

• The primary component of OpenVPN-AS Server is the VPN server. It handles the main functionality on the backend. Also, it include a Web GUI, which helps to manage many of the underlying elements of the software.
• The Main Web Interface allows for easy management of the OpenVPN server components. The admin can control routing options, permissions, network settings, user authentication, and other settings in the WebGUI.
• OpenVPN Connect Clients software is a part of the OpenVPN server, which allows users to connect to the VPN server directly.

How to setup OpenVPN on Linux

Now let’s take a look into how our Support Engineers set up the OpenVPN.

Setup OpenVPN on CentOS

Here is the command that we run in CentOS to install the OpenVPN.

# yum -y install https://as-repository.openvpn.net/as-repo-centos7.rpm
# yum -y install openvpn-as

Setup OpenVPN on Ubuntu

Here is the command we run in Ubuntu Servers to install VPN server.

# apt update && apt -y install ca-certificates wget net-tools
# wget -qO – https://as-repository.openvpn.net/as-repo-public.gpg | apt-key add –
# echo “deb http://as-repository.openvpn.net/as/debian bionic main”>/etc/apt/sources.list.d/openvpn-as-repo.list
# apt update && apt -y install openvpn-as

Source Install

Other source install options are also available from the Alternative OpenVPN. Below are the commands for them.

Ubuntu or Debian Source Install

$ dpkg -i openvpnasdebpack.deb

CentOS, RHEL, or Fedora Source Install

$ rpm -i openvpnasrpmpack.rpm

Setup OpenVPN Admin User

After installing the OpenVPN-AS server, we need to setup the Admin account via terminal. For that, we run the following commands. Make sure that you change the password.

[root@host ~]# passwd openvpn
Changing password for user openvpn.
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
[root@host ~]#

Once you have set the admin password, log into the WebGUI with the below details.

Username: openvpn
Password: (yourpassword)
URL : https://serverip:943/admin

Configuring the Admin Web Interface

After setting up the initial settings, now you will be able to access the WebGUI interface via a web browser using this address:

Admin: https://serverip:943/admin

After logging in, a license screen will be present. Now, click Agree to accept the license and move into the main configuration interface.

[Need any further assistance with Linux queries? – We are here to help you.]

Conclusion

Today, we saw how our Support Engineers setup OpenVPN on Linux.