OpenVPN and SSL Certificates
In order to implement OpenVPN, security certificates are required. In order
to ease some of the pain out of managing certificates, we are in the process of
simplifying the user experience. Here are the steps to get OpenVPN running.
Step 1 -- Before you can configure OpenVPN, you will be directed to the
Account Manager - Setup - Organization page in the web-based administration tool.
The information provided on this page does four important:
- Initializes LDAP
- Creates the required certificate authority
- Creates the required server certificate
- Creates the default data (e.g. city, country, company, etc.) when adding new users
We certainly do not track this information (or any information for that matter), but you will
see these details in security certificates (for example, the one used for HTTPS connections to the
web-based administration). If you allow remote access to the web-based administration tool
(or webmail), you should know that this information is publicly available. Feel
free to create fake details about your organization, but something must be provided.
Step 2 -- Add users on the Account Manager - All Accounts - Users page.
In the background, a certificate key/pair is created for the user. This certificate can
be:
- Imported into mail clients for encrypting and digitally signing mail
- Used for OpenVPN
Step 3 -- Go to the Network - VPN - OpenVPN page in the web-based administration
tool. Configure OpenVPN and start it up!
Step 4 -- Logout of the web-based administration page (button on top right).
Step 5 -- Install the OpenVPN 2.1 software for Windows (download).
Step 6 -- Login to the web-based administration page as the user created in step 2.
Go to the Security and Keys page in the menu. You will need to download the
certificate, certificate authority, key and the OpenVPN configuring into the "configuration"
directory on your Windows system.
Note: an OpenVPN Windows tool is under development. When complete, this final
step will not be necessary!
Step 7 -- Connect with OpenVPN!
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