BR500 VPN w/Mac Client

 

I am having difficulties setting up a “Instant” VPN on my new BR500 router.

 

My network topology is :

 

[Local LAN @ 192.168.1.0/24] <==> [BR500 @  65.110.137.192] <=> [Cable Modem] <=> [Public Internet] <=> [Laptop]

 

My intent is to set up a VPN connection from my [Laptop] to my [Local LAN].  My BR500 is running Firmware 5.5.0.1.  I tried the following steps:

 

1. I checked [X] Open VPN Service on the Advanced => Open VPN  on the BR500 web console

 

2. As per the ’OpenVPN client setup instruction => MacOSX’, I’ve installed Tunnelblick on my Mac laptop:

 

https://code.google.com/p/tunnelblick/ 

 

3.  I noted that the following warning was displayed during the installation:

 

  Warning: This VPN may not connect in the future.

 

  The OpenVPN configuration file for 'client' contains these OpenVPN options:

 

   • 'comp-lzo' was deprecated in OpenVPN 2.4 and has been or will be removed in a later version

 

 

  You should update the configuration so it can be used with modern versions of OpenVPN.

 

  Tunnelblick will use OpenVPN 2.4.6 - OpenSSL v1.0.2q to connect this configuration.

 

  However, you will not be able to connect to this VPN with future versions of Tunnelblick that do not include a version of OpenVPN that accepts the options.

 

4. I clicked ‘OpenVPN configuration package download’ which downloaded a zip file called: non windows.zip

 

5. I opened the Tunnelblick application, and dragged ‘client.conf’ into the ‘Configurations’ box, which added a ‘client’ configuration to Tunnelblick.

 

6 I have no idea what to do with these files, that were also included I the nonwindows.zip download file:

 

• ca.crt
• client.crt
• client.key
• dhcp-client-request.sh

 

7. If I select the ‘client’ configuration within Tunnelblick and click the [Connect] button on my laptop, it never connects.  I am not sure if there is anything else that I am supposed to do in order to make this work?

 

8. In the BR500 web console, the messages ‘Access to cloud is not available’ and ‘Access to VPN is not available’ still keep scrolling up, although Advanced => OpenVPN still shows [X] Open VPN service as checked.

 

9. Basic => VPN on the BR500 web consoles still says ‘No VPN Group.’

 

10. I am including the Tunnelblick connection log (below), and am attaching the full Tunnelblick diagnostic log, which contains even more information.

 

11. In the instructions (OpenVPN client setup instruction => MacOSX), there is a link for installing what looks like another OpenVPN client, but I’m not sure if that applies to Tunnelblick?

 

    https://openvpn.net/index.php/access-server/docs/admin-guides/183-how-to-connect-to-access-server-from-a-mac.html

 

12. I suspect that I am missing one or more steps … can someone please point me in the right direction?

 

13. I have not donloaded OpenVPN separately (from the second link) as I am not entirely clear on whether Tunnelblick includes OpenVPN itself (I think it does), or if I have to download an OpenVPN client separately (I don't think I do?), or what else is required.

14. I had been successfully using IPSecuritas on my FVS318Gv2 for many years, and if there is any way that I can continue to use that client, I'd be very happy doing that as well.  That is a very popularopen source IPsec VPN client for the Mac, but I would need help configuring it for the BR500.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave.