Working with OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu Server 20.04

Introduction

Hello everyone, today I would like to share about “Working with OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu Server 20.04” . I hope my following guide will be helpful to everyone.

What is OpenVPN?

OpenVPN is a tool that helps you create a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

This virtual network has similar properties to a LAN (Local Area Network), where machines within the same network can communicate with each other using IP addresses, thereby creating a private local network for an organization.

For more details, you can search on Google to find additional information.

Setup OpenVPN Server

First of all, you run the following command to download the setup file

wget https://git.io/vpn -O openvpn-install.sh

After finishing the download, you run the following command to change the file permissions

sudo chmod +x openvpn-install.sh

And then, you run the file using the following command

sudo bash openvpn-install.sh

After that, you set it up as follows

Welcome to this OpenVPN road warrior installer!

Which protocol should OpenVPN use?
   1) UDP (recommended)
   2) TCP
Protocol [1]: 1

What port should OpenVPN listen to?
Port [1194]:

Select a DNS server for the clients:
   1) Current system resolvers
   2) Google
   3) 1.1.1.1
   4) OpenDNS
   5) Quad9
   6) AdGuard
DNS server [1]: 2

Enter a name for the first client:
Name [client]: name_vpn
OpenVPN installation is ready to begin.
Press any key to continue...

After completing the installation, the final nine will show the path to your VPN file, what is usually something like /root/name_vpn.ovpn

Copy this file then run it on other machines to connect to this VPN Network.

Additional, you can run the following command to find the path where the VNP file is saved

sudo find / -type f -name "*.ovpn" -ls

Next, you open the VPN configuration file to configure it by using the following command

vi /etc/openvpn/server/server.conf

You comment out the following line by adding a # at the begining, then save the file

# push "redirect-gateway def1 ipv6 bypass-dhcp"

Start OpenVPN Server

You run the following command to start OpenVPN Server

sudo systemctl start openvpn-server@server.service

Get status OpenVPN Server

You run the following command to get status of OpenVPN Server

sudo systemctl status openvpn-server@server.service

Stop OpenVPN Server

You run the following command to stop OpenVPN Server

sudo systemctl stop openvpn-server@server.service

Restart OpenVPN Server

You run the following command to restart OpenVPN Server

sudo systemctl restart openvpn-server@server.service

Addition client to VPN

To adding client to VPN, you run the following command

sudo bash openvpn-install.sh

After that, the terminal will show the following prompt. You enter 1 as shown

Looks like OpenVPN is already installed

What do you want to do?
   1) Add a cert for a new user
   2) Revoke existing user cert
   3) Remove OpenVPN
   4) Exit
Select an option [1-4]: 1

Then you set it up as mentioned above (in the setup part ). Follow the steps provided during the setup process to complete the configuration.

Deleting client

To deleting client, you run the following command

sudo bash openvpn-install.sh

After that, the terminal will show the following prompt. You enter 2 as shown

What do you want to do?
   1) Add a cert for a new user
   2) Revoke existing user cert
   3) Remove OpenVPN
   4) Exit
Select an option [1-4]: 2

Then you select client to delete and confirm the deletion. This typically involves choosing the client number or name from a list and then confirming the action.

Conclusion

I hope this explanation was clear and easy to understand for you to follow through the process.

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