Difference between revisions of "Building a VPN tunnel from scratch"

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=Install openvpn=
<span style="color: rgb(186, 55, 42);" >'''NOTE:'''</span> If you are working on an LXC, [[PVE_LXC_Containers#Using_a_VPN_%28OpenVPN_or_TailScale%29_on_an_LXC{{!}}see this]].
 
= Install openvpn =


* <code>sudo apt install openvpn</code>
* <code>sudo apt install openvpn</code>
= On-demand tunnel =
In the following 2 sections:
* '''10.9.8.1''' & '''10.9.8.2''' are arbitrary private IPs
* '''SERVER_IP''' is the NORMAL IP address or name of the machine acting as the server
These commands can be run in the background to create the tunnel when needed.
== On-demand server ==
* <code>sudo openvpn --dev tun1 --ifconfig '''10.9.8.1''' '''10.9.8.2'''</code>
in a second terminal:
* <code>ip a</code>
& you should see a <code>tun1</code> entry like:
9: tun1: <pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN group default qlen 500
    link/none
    inet 10.9.8.1 peer 10.9.8.2/32 scope global tun1
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::dc71:3707:693c:5017/64 scope link stable-privacy
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
== On-demand client ==
* <code>sudo openvpn --remote '''SERVER_IP''' --dev tun1 --ifconfig '''10.9.8.2''' '''10.9.8.1'''</code>
in a second terminal:
* <code>ip a</code>
& you should see a <code>tun1</code> entry like:
3: tun1: <pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN group default qlen 500
    link/none
    inet 10.9.8.2 peer 10.9.8.1/32 scope global tun1
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::4c39:d598:21b8:2b41/64 scope link stable-privacy
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever</pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up>
= Persistant (on-boot) tunnel =
<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);" data-mce-style="color: #800080;"><big>'''WERKIN ON IT'''</big></span>
== Configure as a server ==
== Configure as a client ==
= Tips & Notes =
== When running openvpn as a service ==
I've discovered that <code>service openvpn restart</code> seems to actually act exactly the same as <code>service openvpn stop</code>. This seems wrong...
In order to RESTART openvpn, it is a 2 step process.
* <code>service openvpn stop</code>
* <code>service openvpn start</code>

Latest revision as of 16:10, 19 September 2025

Proven on:
Logo Debian.png
 13 (trixie)


As always...

Start with:

  • sudo apt update
  • sudo apt upgrade

NOTE: If you are working on an LXC, see this.

Install openvpn

  • sudo apt install openvpn

On-demand tunnel

In the following 2 sections:

  • 10.9.8.1 & 10.9.8.2 are arbitrary private IPs
  • SERVER_IP is the NORMAL IP address or name of the machine acting as the server

These commands can be run in the background to create the tunnel when needed.

On-demand server

  • sudo openvpn --dev tun1 --ifconfig 10.9.8.1 10.9.8.2

in a second terminal:

  • ip a

& you should see a tun1 entry like: 

9: tun1: <pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN group default qlen 500
   link/none 
   inet 10.9.8.1 peer 10.9.8.2/32 scope global tun1
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
   inet6 fe80::dc71:3707:693c:5017/64 scope link stable-privacy 
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

On-demand client

  • sudo openvpn --remote SERVER_IP --dev tun1 --ifconfig 10.9.8.2 10.9.8.1

in a second terminal:

  • ip a

& you should see a tun1 entry like: 

3: tun1: <pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN group default qlen 500
   link/none 
   inet 10.9.8.2 peer 10.9.8.1/32 scope global tun1
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
   inet6 fe80::4c39:d598:21b8:2b41/64 scope link stable-privacy 
      valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever</pointopoint,multicast,noarp,up,lower_up>

Persistant (on-boot) tunnel

WERKIN ON IT

Configure as a server

Configure as a client

Tips & Notes

When running openvpn as a service

I've discovered that service openvpn restart seems to actually act exactly the same as service openvpn stop. This seems wrong...

In order to RESTART openvpn, it is a 2 step process.

  • service openvpn stop
  • service openvpn start
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