Set up your own IPsec VPN server in just a few minutes, with both IPsec/L2TP and Cisco IPsec on Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS. All you need to do is provide your own VPN credentials, and let the scripts handle the rest.
An IPsec VPN encrypts your network traffic, so that nobody between you and the VPN server can eavesdrop on your data as it travels via the Internet. This is especially useful when using unsecured networks, e.g. at coffee shops, airports or hotel rooms.
We will use <ahref="https://libreswan.org/"target="_blank">Libreswan</a> as the IPsec server, and <ahref="https://github.com/xelerance/xl2tpd"target="_blank">xl2tpd</a> as the L2TP provider.
<ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/ipsec-l2tp-vpn-auto-setup-for-ubuntu-12-04-on-amazon-ec2/"target="_blank">**» Related tutorial: IPsec VPN Server Auto Setup with Libreswan**</a>
Please refer to <ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/ipsec-l2tp-vpn-auto-setup-for-ubuntu-12-04-on-amazon-ec2/#vpnsetup"target="_blank">detailed instructions</a> and <ahref="https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/"target="_blank">EC2 pricing</a>.
A dedicated server or Virtual Private Server (VPS), freshly installed with one of the above OS. In addition, Debian 7 (Wheezy) can also be used with <ahref="extras/vpnsetup-debian-7-workaround.sh"target="_blank">this workaround</a>. OpenVZ VPS is NOT supported, users could instead try <ahref="https://github.com/Nyr/openvpn-install"target="_blank">OpenVPN</a>.
This also includes Linux VMs in public clouds, such as <ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/digitalocean"target="_blank">DigitalOcean</a>, <ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/vultr"target="_blank">Vultr</a>, <ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/linode"target="_blank">Linode</a>, <ahref="https://cloud.google.com/compute/"target="_blank">Google Compute Engine</a>, <ahref="https://amazonlightsail.com"target="_blank">Amazon Lightsail</a>, <ahref="https://azure.microsoft.com"target="_blank">Microsoft Azure</a>, <ahref="http://www.softlayer.com/"target="_blank">IBM SoftLayer</a>, <ahref="https://www.rackspace.com"target="_blank">Rackspace</a> and <ahref="http://vcloud.vmware.com"target="_blank">VMware vCloud Air</a>.
<ahref="azure/README.md"target="_blank"><imgsrc="docs/images/azure-deploy-button.png"alt="Deploy to Azure"/></a><ahref="http://dovpn.carlfriess.com/"target="_blank"><imgsrc="docs/images/do-install-button.png"alt="Install on DigitalOcean"/></a><ahref="https://www.linode.com/stackscripts/view/37239"target="_blank"><imgsrc="docs/images/linode-deploy-button.png"alt="Deploy to Linode"/></a>
<ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/ipsec-l2tp-vpn-auto-setup-for-ubuntu-12-04-on-amazon-ec2/#gettingavps"target="_blank">**» I want to run my own VPN but don't have a server for that**</a>
**Note:** If unable to download via `wget`, you may also open <ahref="vpnsetup.sh"target="_blank">vpnsetup.sh</a> (or <ahref="vpnsetup_centos.sh"target="_blank">vpnsetup_centos.sh</a>) and click the **`Raw`** button. Press `Ctrl-A` to select all, `Ctrl-C` to copy, then paste into your favorite editor.
**Windows and Android users**: If you get an error when trying to connect, see <ahref="docs/clients.md#troubleshooting"target="_blank">Troubleshooting</a>.
The same VPN account can be used by your multiple devices. However, due to an IPsec limitation, only one device behind the same NAT (e.g. home router) can connect to the VPN server at a time. This applies even if you create multiple users.
For servers with an external firewall (e.g. <ahref="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-network-security.html"target="_blank">EC2</a>/<ahref="https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/networking#firewalls"target="_blank">GCE</a>), open UDP ports 500 & 4500, and TCP port 22 (for SSH).
Clients are set to use <ahref="https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/"target="_blank">Google Public DNS</a> when the VPN is active. If another DNS provider is preferred, replace `8.8.8.8` and `8.8.4.4` in both `/etc/ppp/options.xl2tpd` and `/etc/ipsec.conf`. Then reboot your server.
To modify the IPTables rules after install, edit `/etc/iptables.rules` and/or `/etc/iptables/rules.v4` (Ubuntu/Debian), or `/etc/sysconfig/iptables` (CentOS). Then reboot your server.
The additional scripts <ahref="extras/vpnupgrade.sh"target="_blank">vpnupgrade.sh</a> and <ahref="extras/vpnupgrade_centos.sh"target="_blank">vpnupgrade_centos.sh</a> can be used to upgrade <ahref="https://libreswan.org"target="_blank">Libreswan</a> (<ahref="https://github.com/libreswan/libreswan/blob/master/CHANGES"target="_blank">changelog</a> | <ahref="https://lists.libreswan.org/mailman/listinfo/swan-announce"target="_blank">announce</a>). Edit the `swan_ver` variable as necessary. Check installed version: `ipsec --version`.
- Got a question? Please first search other people's comments <ahref="https://gist.github.com/hwdsl2/9030462#comments"target="_blank">in this Gist</a> and <ahref="https://blog.ls20.com/ipsec-l2tp-vpn-auto-setup-for-ubuntu-12-04-on-amazon-ec2/#disqus_thread"target="_blank">on my blog</a>.
- Ask VPN related questions on these mailing lists: <ahref="https://lists.libreswan.org/mailman/listinfo/swan"target="_blank">[1]</a><ahref="https://lists.strongswan.org/mailman/listinfo/users"target="_blank">[2]</a>, or read related articles: <ahref="https://libreswan.org/wiki/Main_Page"target="_blank">[1]</a><ahref="https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/7/html/Security_Guide/sec-Securing_Virtual_Private_Networks.html"target="_blank">[2]</a><ahref="https://wiki.strongswan.org/projects/strongswan/wiki/UserDocumentation"target="_blank">[3]</a><ahref="https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/IPsec_L2TP_VPN_server"target="_blank">[4]</a><ahref="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/L2TP/IPsec_VPN_client_setup"target="_blank">[5]</a>.
- If you found a reproducible bug, open a <ahref="https://github.com/hwdsl2/setup-ipsec-vpn/issues?q=is%3Aissue"target="_blank">GitHub Issue</a> to submit a bug report.
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