How to set up an OpenVPN client in pfSense?
on PFSense Simply navigate to VPN – OpenVPN and click on their Clients’ tab. The form will then pop up once you click the ‘+Add’ button. In this window you’ll open a tool to edit OpenVPN, which has sections such as General information, User Authentication Settings, Cryptographic settings, Tunnel settings, and Advanced Configurations.
Why to use pfSense as a NTP server?
Using pfSense as a NTP server in your network ensures that your hosts always have consistent accurate time and reduces the load on the Internet’s NTP servers. Configuring Windows hosts to utilize this server is straightforward, while configuration under FreeBSD and Linux requires a bit more work.
How to setup NordVPN on pfSense?
pfSense 2.5 Setup with NordVPN 1. To set up OpenVPN on pfSense 2.5.0, access your pfSense from your browser, then navigate to System > Certificate... 2. For this tutorial, we will configure our pfSense to connect to a server in the Netherlands, but you should connect to... 3. Navigate to VPN > ...
Can I install pfSense on a Linux server?
PfSense can be installed on a dedicated hardware or VM just like any other OS. If you want to protect a Linux Sever behind firewall (PfSense in this case), I suggest you to install PfSense on a dedicated hardware or VM that will be placed in line with Linux server, thereby forcing all traffic to go through this firewall.
What is the key for OpenVPN?
There are several types of authentication methods that can be used with OpenVPN: shared key, X.509 (also known as SSL/TLS or PKI), user authentication via local, LDAP, and RADIUS, or a combination of X.509 and user authentication. For shared key, a single key is generated that will be used on both sides. SSL/TLS involves using a trusted set of ...
What operating system does OpenVPN work on?
OpenVPN supports clients on a wide range of operating systems including all the BSDs, Linux, Android, Mac OS X, iOS, Solaris, Windows 2000 and newer, and even some VoIP handsets. Every OpenVPN connection, whether remote access or site-to-site, consists of a server and a client.
Is OpenVPN clientless?
While OpenVPN is an SSL VPN, it is not a “clientless” SSL VPN in the sense that commercial firewall vendors commonly state. The OpenVPN client must be installed on all client devices. In reality no VPN solution is truly “clientless”, and this terminology is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
About the page
Unlike the previous pages, the links for Documentation and Support do not land users onto a page in the Web UI. These links will take you to VPN Server Resources (Documentation) and the OpenVPN Support respectively.
Documentation
Thanks to OpenVPN's open source beginnings, we have a large amount of documentation provided by both community volunteers and the OpenVPN team.
Support
At times, there are issues that documentation will just not suffice. Therefore, we at OpenVPN are willing to provide you help with issues you may have. To ask us questions, make a free OpenVPN account, which can be done here.
Summary
The Admin Web UI presents users a very clean and effective interface to configure, manage, and test a server for their VPN. The Admin Web UI reduces a significant amount of the complexity, technical skill, and time that would otherwise be required to configure Access Server, let alone a VPN host to set up a quick and secure server.
What is pfSense package?
pfSense provides a package called openvpn-client-export which creates preconfigured OpenVPN profiles for you to download containing all the VPN settings and the user certificate if one is used. For Windows users it also allows you to download an OpenVPN client installer which will automatically install the OpenVPN client application and configure it with the VPN settings. This step is optional as you could configure the client settings manually but in most cases, doing it will simplify deployment.
How to export OpenVPN client?
The easiest way to configure client settings is to use the openvpn-client-export package we installed earlier. Go to VPN > OpenVPN > Client Export. At the bottom of this there is a section called OpenVPN Clients. In this section you will see a list of available users whose configuration we can export.
What port does OpenVPN use?
The other setting you may wish to change is the listening port. By default OpenVPN listens on port 1194 in either UDP or TCP mode. You can change the port if you wish, either based on personal preference or if you are on a network which blocks VPN traffic or outbound ports.
What branch of OpenVPN is used for Windows 7?
For Windows 7, 8 or 10 and their corresponding server versions you will want to use the 2.4.8 branch of OpenVPN client. For Windows XP or Vista (shown as win6 in this interface) you will need the older 2.3.18 branch (also, upgrade your PC). Download the installer you want and transfer it to the target PC. Download the correct installer and copy it to your target PC. The installer behaves like any standard Windows installer, just run it, click the “install” button and follow the prompts.
How to create a user in OpenVPN?
To do this we will need to create a user. Go to System > User Manager and add a user. You will need to configure a username and password as per the picture below. The other settings can be left as default although if you are only planning to grant the user temporary access you may want to set the account to expire automatically when access is due to be revoked.
How to install OpenVPN client export?
From the pfSense dashboard go to System > Package Manager > Available Packages and search for the openvpn-client-export package. Click the Install button to install it.
How to create a certificate for OpenVPN?
From the pfSense dashboard, go to System > Cert. Manager > CAs and click Add to create a new CA. Enter a descriptive name to help you identify what the CA is called and a common name which will appear on the certificates. The rest of the settings can be adjusted if required but the defaults should provide a reasonable balance between security and performance for most use cases. By default the CA lifetime is set to 3650 days (10 years) which is reasonable for a CA but can be adjusted if desired. If you wish you can also include location and organisation data but this is entirely optional.
How does VPN work?
How it works. The goal is to offer a VPN solution for travelling or teleworking users allowing them to have secure access to the company’s LAN. These users can use a computer or a smartphone to connect. In all cases, they will use an OpenVPN client.
How to add a group to OpenVPN?
Go on “Groups” tab, then click on the “+ Add” button at the bottom right. Give the name you want to the group. In our case we choose “OpenVPN-users”. Then click on the “Save” button. Once done, come back on the “Users” tab, then click on the “+ Add” button. The fields to be filled in are the following:
Is OpenVPN compatible with Mac?
OpenVPN = the perfect solution for home-office users. OpenVPN is easy to implement and is compatible with all types of platforms (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, …) This article does not cover site-to-site mode configuration of OpenVPN (shared key or X.509).
