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OpenVPN client issues / cannot connect remotely / Orbi RBR850
I have a weird issue trying to set up the VPN service my new Orbi RBR850 router. Here's what I have configured so far, following the guide found here: I have enabled the VPN service under Advanced...
SOLVED!
So I decided to go with the latest OpenVPN Connect client that exclusively uses TUN.
https://openvpn.net/downloads/openvpn-connect-v3-windows.msiI then edited the .ovpn config file before importing to change the default to TUN and the port to 12973. See below.
After importing, I connected just fine and am able to connect to all my devices, RDP, and browse internet.
Don't know why Orbi's instructions point to the older 2.5 client, but the latest version is the way to go.
client
dev tun
proto udp
sndbuf 393216
rcvbuf 393216
push "sndbuf 393216"
push "rcvbuf 393216"
dev-node NETGEAR-VPN
remote XXXXXXX.mynetgear.com 12973
resolv-retry infinite
nobind
persist-key
persist-tun
ca ca.crt
cert client.crt
key client.key
cipher AES-128-CBC
comp-lzo
verb 0
Another "gotcha" in the tap/tun situation is that it is essential that the device running OpenVPN not have an IP address in the same subnet as the Orbi LAN. Imagine this:
- A computer is connected to the LAN network of a router and is assigned an IP address of 192.168.1.x1 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0
- OpenVPN is run on the computer and connected to a tap connection on the Orbi router. Orbi assigns an IP address of 192.168.1.x2 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
- Where is subnet 192.168.1.x? Is it on the native ethernet/WiFi port where the computer is 192.168.1.x1, or is it on the OpenVPN port where the computer has IP address 192.168.1.x2?
For me, this has never been an issue because I typically connect to a Hot Spot on my phone, which hands out 192.168.43.x IP addresses. All subnets from 0 through 254 are valid private IP addresses. Maybe some engineer was thining ahead, "what if someone attempts to open a VPN on this phone's Hot Spot?" Or, maybe just dumb luck.
So, when OpenVPN was tested remotely, what was it connected to? What IP address did it have?
SOLVED!
So I decided to go with the latest OpenVPN Connect client that exclusively uses TUN.
https://openvpn.net/downloads/openvpn-connect-v3-windows.msi
I then edited the .ovpn config file before importing to change the default to TUN and the port to 12973. See below.
After importing, I connected just fine and am able to connect to all my devices, RDP, and browse internet.
Don't know why Orbi's instructions point to the older 2.5 client, but the latest version is the way to go.
client
dev tun
proto udp
sndbuf 393216
rcvbuf 393216
push "sndbuf 393216"
push "rcvbuf 393216"
dev-node NETGEAR-VPN
remote XXXXXXX.mynetgear.com 12973
resolv-retry infinite
nobind
persist-key
persist-tun
ca ca.crt
cert client.crt
key client.key
cipher AES-128-CBC
comp-lzo
verb 0