Installing OpenVPN on Arch Linux

OpenVPN is a popular open-source VPN (Virtual Private Network) software that provides secure remote access to a private network. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install OpenVPN on Arch Linux.

Here are the steps to install OpenVPN on Arch Linux:

Prerequisites

Before we start, we need to ensure that our Arch Linux system is up-to-date. To do this, open the terminal and run the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

Install OpenVPN on Arch Linux

1. Open the terminal and install OpenVPN using the following command:

sudo pacman -S openvpn

2. Next, we need to get the OpenVPN configuration files from the official OpenVPN website. We can use the following command to download the configuration files:

wget https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/SampleConfigurationFiles -O /tmp/config.zip

3. Extract the downloaded configuration files:

sudo unzip /tmp/config.zip -d /etc/openvpn/

4. Now we need to generate the encryption keys and certificates for our VPN connection. We can use the "easy-rsa" script provided by OpenVPN for this purpose. Install the "easy-rsa" package using the following command:

sudo pacman -S easy-rsa

5. After installing the "easy-rsa" package, we need to initialize the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) environment:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/easy-rsa /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa
cd /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa
sudo ./easyrsa init-pki

6. Next, we need to generate the CA (Certificate Authority) certificate:

sudo ./easyrsa build-ca

7. After generating the CA certificate, we need to generate the server certificate:

sudo ./easyrsa build-server-full server nopass

8. Now we need to copy the required files to the OpenVPN directory:

sudo cp /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/pki/ca.crt /etc/openvpn
sudo cp /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/pki/issued/server.crt /etc/openvpn
sudo cp /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/pki/private/server.key /etc/openvpn

9. Finally, we are ready to start the OpenVPN service. Run the following command to start the OpenVPN service:

sudo systemctl start openvpn@server

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned how to install OpenVPN on Arch Linux. OpenVPN is a great VPN software that provides secure remote access to a private network. With OpenVPN, you can easily set up a secure VPN connection and access your private network from anywhere in the world.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!