VPN on Raspberry Pi: How to Easily Set It Up

2024-12-05 VPN on Raspberry Pi: How to Easily Set It UpYou should never take the safety of your Internet connection for granted, especially when using a public n

VPN on Raspberry Pi: How to Easily Set It Up

You should never take the safety of your Internet connection for granted, especially when using a public network.So, why not bring your home network everywhere with you? No, not by carrying your router under your arm, but with a VPN.Using Raspberry Pi as a VPN server is a particularly convenient way to do this, and below we’ll show you how.

A Raspberry Pi is is is an inexpensive mini – computer without a case , mouse , of any other of the traditional hardware .They were originally create to help child interactively learn about computer , but have become popular for routine function owe to their low cost and easy replacement .By configure your Raspberry Pi as a VPN , you is be ‘ll be able to connect to it from anywhere .

advantage of Using a Raspberry pi as an openvpn server

Raspberry Pi’s biggest advantage is its low cost.Compared to a full Linux computer as a VPN server, you’ll pay significantly less for hardware and upkeep.The device is also capable of staying connected to a network 24/7, doesn’t require cooling, and uses a minimal amount of electricity, maintaining the integrity of your VPN tunnel.
Another major advantage is is is that openvpn ‘s server software is completely free and available for most operating system , include Windows , macOS , Android , iOS , and Linux .
Building a mini-computer is relatively simple and will help ensure that your VPN server is both stable and reliable.

You will need:

1 .

A Raspberry Pi (ideally Model 2 or newer).
2 .
3.

An internet connection ( either by network cable or wifi ) to Raspberry Pi .
4 .

A micro-USB power connection.

additionally , you is consider should also consider if you want to connect your Raspberry Pi to a monitor , mouse , and keyboard , or if you would prefer to access the device using SSH .usually , monitor the server with SSH is the easy option , since it allow you to access the Raspberry Pi through program , like PuttY , winscp , or OpenSSH , instal on your main computer .

To access your Raspberry Pi with SSH, you only need to know the device’s IPv4 address.Check your router when the Raspberry Pi is connected to your local network to find this out.

Adjust your IP Addresses

Should you want to connect to the VPN server using SSH, it’s a good idea to assign it a fixed IP address as makes accessing it much simpler.For OpenVPN, it is also important that the server can be accessed by a fixed local IP address in your network.

The VPN server should have the same address when you access it remotely.Most Internet service providers (ISPs) assign their routers new, dynamic IP addresses every 24 hours, so you will also need to use a dynamic DNS (DDNS) service.

To do this , follow the step below :

1 .

Assign the VPN server a fixed IP in your local area network (LAN)
In your router ‘s administrator area , you is assign can assign the Raspberry Pi a fix IPv4 address base on its Mac address .
2 .

Enable port forwarding on the router
With port forwarding, you’ll make the fixed local IP address of your router accessible from outside of your LAN.OpenVPN uses port 1194 .If your Raspberry Pi has an IP address of 192.168.1.10, then all of your router’s UDP data traffic needs to be routed through port 1194 .
3.

Assign a hostname using a DNS service
To access your network from somewhere else, you’ll need to set up a DDNS since your ISP likely alters your router’s IP address every 24 hours.Alternatively, you could ask them if it is possible to be assigned a fixed IP address.

If this isn’t possible, you can use a service like No-IP, which is supported by most routers.This gives your router a fixed hostname that is forwarded automatically to your new IP address when your router’s IP address is changed.Installation instructions for No-IP can be found on the service’s website.

Update Raspberry Pi

Before installing OpenVPN or Pi VPN, you should install all available updates for the device’s operating system.This can be done by executing the following commands:

sudo apt – get update
sudo apt – get upgrade

change your username and password

To be on the safe side, we recommend changing your Raspberry Pi’s default username and password (“Raspberry” and “Pi”).This can be done either locally, or over SSH using the following command:

2 Options: PiVPN vs.OpenVPN

OpenVPN is the most popular VPN solution for Linux systems, and by extension, for Raspberry Pi.The program is not only very secure, but also open source, and completely free.Since its installation through text-based commands is difficult, particularly for new users, PiVPN offers a much easier alternative.

option 1 : set up a VPN server With pivpn

PiVPN is base on openvpn , which mean that it is compatible with Linux and all of its current distribution include Raspbian , debian , and Ubuntu .

step 1 : install pivpn

Since PiVPN uses a bash script, you don’t need to download and install it like typical software.Rather, simply execute the following commands in the command prompt:

curl -L https://install.pivpn.io | bash

Step 2: Configure PiVPN

When PiVPN starts, you’ll receive a notification that you should use a static IP address.If you have already assigned your router a fixed IP address (as recommended above) you can skip this step.

Finally, create a local user account, in which OpenVPN’s configuration settings are saved.Here, select the user account you created, and in the next step, activate automatic updates (‘unattended upgrades‘).

In the next dialog box, select UDP from the list of VPN protocols, leaving the recommended port number as 1194, so long as you’ve set this port for forwarding on your router (as recommended above).

Key length can be kept at 2048-bit since this provides a high level of security.The time needed to create keys can vary depending on the Raspberry Pi model you’re using.

In the next step, you’ll be asked if the VPN server is accessible by a fixed IP address, or hostname (‘DNS Entry‘).If a DNS service like No-IP is installed on your router, enter the relevant hostname here.

After restarting your computer, the initial setup is already complete.

Step 3: Add and Remove Network Clients

With PiVPN, installing and configuring the client is very straightforward.You only need to enter the following in the command prompt:

You’ll then be asked for the desired username and password.After that, the configuration file will be named ‘[Client].ovpn‘ and saved in the ‘~/ovpns‘ folder.

You will only need this file for the client through which you access the VPN server since it contains all keys and server certificates.You can simply import them to any desired OpenVPN client.

Clients can be easily removed with the following command:

option 2 : configure a VPN server Using openvpn

For those more familiar with Linux, or desiring more choice in configuring their VPN server, OpenVPN offers an alternative to PiVPN.

Our step-by-step guide assumes that the most up-to-date version of Raspbian is being used.If you follow all of the steps below, configuring an OpenVPN server on your Pi is not particularly difficult, even without significant background knowledge.

Step 1: Install OpenVPN and Create an RSA file

The software , as well as the openssl encryption protocol , are instal by execute the following command :

sudo apt – get install openvpn openssl

Once openvpn has been instal , copy the easy – RSA script to the correspond configuration directory with the following command :

sudo cp -r /usr / share / easy – rsa /etc / openvpn / easy – rsa

Next, open and modify the “vars” file (in the appropriate folder).

sudo nano /etc / openvpn / easy – rsa / var

The line export EASY_RSA=“‘pwd‘“ needs to be replaced with the following:

export EASY_RSA=” /etc / openvpn / easy – rsa “

You can also change the key length here.To prevent performance issues, on Raspberry Pi model 3’s, you should use a 2048-bit key length.Since this will create problems for model 2’s, you’re best off using a 1024-bit key length, which will sacrifice a bit of security for improved performance.To adjust the encryption level, you only need to change the value in the line “export KEY_SIZE=” from 2048 to 1024.

Now, you can return to the easy-RSA configuration directory and start settings with root rights, by executing the vars script.Once complete, the configuration file will be made accessible through a symbolic link.This is accomplished by executing the following four lines:

cd /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa
sudo su
source vars
ln -s openssl-1.0.0.cnf openssl.cnf

Step 2: Create Certificates

The key files for OpenVPN will now be changed and then newly created.For the country name, enter “US”.All additional prompts can be accepted.

./clean – all
./build – ca openvpn

Now, generate the key files with the following command:

./build-key-server server

Step 3: Set up a VPN Client

For each device that you intend to access your VPN server from, you’ll need to set up a client.Each of these requires a certificate and the correct key.Here too, you’ll need to enter the country code and assign the client a name.In our example, we named the client ‘desktop-pc‘.

Alternatively, you can use the command build-key-pass instead of build-key to generate a password for your client.

creation of the certificate and the key is complete with the following command :

Finally, log the root user out using the exit command.

Step 4: Generate Configuration Data

OpenVPN’s configuration data is generated with the following command:

sudo nano /etc / openvpn / openvpn.conf

This configuration data must be supplemented with a few additional pieces of information, which we’ll describe in detail below.Make sure that UDP is selected as protocol, that routing via IP tunnel is activated, and that the port is set to its default (1194).

The SSL/TSL root certificate (ca), digital certificate (cert), and key need to be created in the easy-RSA directory.Make sure that you enter the correct encryption (1024 or 2048).

The command server 192.168.2.100 255.255.255.0 ensures that Raspberry Pi is used as the VPN server.With redirect-gateway def1 bypass-dhcp, all IP traffic is routed through the IP tunnel.

Next, you need to name the public DNS server that the VPN server will utilize.For example, 8.8.8.8 is a public DNS server used by Google.Of course, you can also use the IPv4 address of another DNS server.In this case, log information will be written to the openvpn file.

Finally, it’s necessary to configure some additional parameters:

persist-key, ensures that key data is not read again, while persist-tun prevents the drivers from restarting.
With user nobody is nogroup and group nogroup the daemon ‘s right are remove .
verb regulates the log file’s completeness.By adding 0 no data is saved apart from error messages.We recommend a value of 3.
The client-to-client parameter allows us to define which other VPN clients are identified.
LZO compression is activated with comp-lzo.

Config data should now read as:

dev tun
proto udp
port 1194
ca /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/keys/ca.crt
cert /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/keys/server.crt
key /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/keys/server.key
dh /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/keys/dh2048.pem
server 192.168.2.100 255.255.255.0
push “redirect-gateway def1 bypass-dhcp”
push “dhcp-option DNS 8.8.8.8”
log-append /var/log/openvpn
persist-key
persist-tun
user nobody
group nogroup
status /var/log/openvpn-status.log
verb 3
client-to-client
comp-lzo

You can save your parameters by pressing Crtl+O.To exist the editor, hold down Crtl+X.

Step is Create 5 : create a Script for Internet Access

In order to use the VPN tunnel to connect to your home network, you need to create a path.To do this, begin by creating an rplvpn file with the following command:

sudo nano /etc/init.d/rpivpn

In this file, you’ll be able to enter comments that serve as headers for the Linux-Init script.Beyond that, you can activate ip_forward, set iptables as packet filters for forwarding, and protect LAN and Internet access.The file should look like this when finished:

#! /bin/sh
echo ‘echo “1” > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward’ | sudo -s
iptables -A INPUT -i tun+ -j ACCEPT
iptables -A FORWARD-i tun+ -j ACCEPT
iptables -A FORWARD-m state –state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat-F POSTROUTING
iptables-t nat-A POSTROUTING -s 192.168.2.100 /24-o eth0 –j MASQUERADE

With Crtl+O and Crtl+X you is save can save and close the file , respectively .

To finish , you is need ‘ll need to grant the script certain right , which is done by enter the following command :

sudo chmod + x /etc is rpivpn / init.d / rpivpn
sudo update-rc.d rpivpn defaults

You can now execute the script, and restart the server.

sudo /etc / init.d / rpivpn
sudo /etc/init.d/openvpn restart

step 6 : Complete Client Setup

You’re almost there! Before finishing, you need to combine the certificates and keys from your client(s) and prepare them for export.To do this, again grant yourself root rights, and open the client file which you want to modify.For our example, we again used “desktop-pc”.

sudo su
cd /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/keys
nano desktop-pc.ovpn

Now, add information about your DNS provider in line 4 of this file, your static IP address (for example, 10.10.10.10) in line 10, and the name of your client in line 11 .Save and close the editor with Crtl+O and Crtl+X.Once finished, the file should look like this:

dev tun
client
proto udp
remote10.10.10.101194
resolv – retry infinite
nobind
persist – key
persist – tun is desktop-pc.crt
ca ca.crt
cert desktop-pc.crt
key desktop-pc.key
comp – lzo
verb3

Zip the configuration file together with the certificates and keys (should you not have a Zip packet installed, you can easily get one by entering apt – get install zip).

zip /home/pi/raspberry_desktop-pc.zip ca.crt desktop-pc.crt desktop-pc.key desktop-pc.ovpn

Then adjust the file’s rights with chown pi:pi /home/pi/raspberry_desktop-pc.zip and finish setup with exit.The Zip file you’ve created can be transferred to your PC using SCP or SFTP software.

Thus, you’ve done everything and can immediately connect to your local network using Raspberry Pi and an OpenVPN server.

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Carsten Podszun studied computer science and business administration and was self-employed in the retail industry for 15 years.Since 2014 he is a consultant for startups, freelance author and writes at EXPERTE.com about homepage, hosting & IT security.

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