A VPN server is a versatile tool that is indispensable in many cases in today’s world. You can improve your privacy and protect your data, while the “side effect” of being able to access the Internet from another region opens up a lot of useful applications, such as accessing resources that are blocked in your country or conducting market research for a specific region. . from your VPN server.
There are several ways to access a VPN server. First of all, you should know that there are many free and paid services that you can access by googling and that you must have already found in case you felt the need for a VPN service before.
However, there is another way around this: you can actually create and configure your own VPN server using Linux VPS hosting. It is important to note right away that this approach is not universal and has certain limitations, you will need to contact a VPN service provider to achieve some specific goal or make your life easier, but the ability to build and configure your own VPN will be useful in any case.
Advantages of creating your own VPN server
Before diving into any topic, it’s important to understand why. When we deal with our own VPN, we avoid many pitfalls that can otherwise be present on a commercial VPS. So, let’s take a look at the benefits it offers.
Cost effectiveness
It is clear that by doing things yourself you save money because you are not paying for the service in question. On the other hand, many common VPN service providers offer somewhat inflexible plans, where you will have to pay a lot unless you take an annual or even two-year plan. VPN hosting plans are usually much more practical from this point of view, and even the cheapest VPS will suffice. You can cancel the service at any time and renew it when you need it again, without being tied to a rigid annual plan.
more transparency
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of VPN service providers you can find on the web, and choosing between them can be daunting, and the price can vary. Until you try it, you won’t know exactly if its quality will be enough for you. On the other hand, you will not know exactly if this or that provider is tracking your data or selling it to third parties.
With your own VPN server you will know exactly what happens to your data because the server is yours, while the performance will only depend on the VPS you hire. Meaning, there are far fewer variables that can determine the quality of the service, so it’s almost completely transparent to you.
Of course, with a little research you can find a good and reliable VPN provider that offers services that are convenient for you and at a reasonable price, but won’t this research require more than just getting things done?
you have a VPS
Another benefit of using a VPS for VPN is that you actually have a VPS. And you can use this VPS for other purposes besides VPN. If you are a regular user, you can use it as storage and remote access to your files and applications. You can use it as a game server if you like gaming. And if you own the site, you probably know what to do with it. In this case, the VPN may play second fiddle to your website, and using your VPS for VPN will be a wise use of resources.
However, there are several disadvantages of a DIY VPN server.
- You are limited by region. If switching between different countries to access content available in different regions is what you need a VPN for, unfortunately creating a VPN with your own VPS is not for you. The VPS is located in a specific region, so your choice of VPN locations will be limited by that. If you need a VPN for privacy reasons or you don’t need more than one location, creating your own VPN server is a very practical solution.
- You will have to dedicate time to it. While it may take you a few minutes to get started with a standard service, your own VPN will require you to study and follow the instructions carefully. However, the process itself is not really difficult from a technical point of view and gives you some valuable experience and knowledge.
- You will have to fix things yourself. In a commercial VPN service, everything is already set up while technical problems are solved without your involvement. In the worst case, you will need to contact your service provider’s technical support team. Instead, if something happens to the VPN server you have created, you will have to take care of things yourself, as there will be no help or technical support. However, if the problem is with your server, your hosting provider’s support team will be there to help you.
Building a VPN server on your Linux VPS
Now let’s see how to install and configure your VPN service on your Linux VPS using Ubuntu.
- Make sure the TUN/TAP adapter is enabled. It is a parameter that allows you to configure a VPN connection. You will most likely find it in your control panel. Alternatively, you can do this command:
cat /dev/net/tun
If TUN/TAP is enabled, you will see the following message:cat: /dev/net/tun: Bad file descriptor.
- Install OpenVPN. OpenVPN is an open source VPN technology widely used by businesses and individuals to create virtual private networks. The first step to installing OpenVPN is to install the OpenVPN access server package.
First, login to your VPS via SSH as the root user. Now use the following commands:
apt update && apt -y install CA certificates wget gnupg network tools
wget -qO – https://as-repository.openvpn.net/as-repo-public.gpg | apt-key add –
echo “deb http://as-repository.openvpn.net/as/debian focal main”>/etc/apt/sources.list.d/openvpn-as-repo.list
apt update && apt -y install openvpn-as
After installation, you will receive an admin UI address and a client UI address, as well as the UI login information you will need for further configuration.
- Go to the admin UI with the credentials you just saw. Now go to User Management -> User Permissions and create a new user.
- After creating a new user, the OpenVPN connection profile file needed to connect to the VPN server can be downloaded by logging into the OpenVPN access server user interface with the credentials of the newly created user. Please note that OpenVPN is cross-platform and you will be able to connect multiple devices using its connection profile file. However, the free version includes up to two devices and you will have to pay more for more.
Conclusion
A VPN is a versatile tool that is becoming more and more useful in the modern world. However, you may not be aware that in addition to the usual option of buying a ready-to-use VPN solution from a single provider on the market, you can create a VPN server yourself using a VPS server, which has many advantages, including to be economical. and transparent, although it requires you to perform many operations. We hope this article is what you are, thank you for your attention! Take care!
Categories: How to
Source: HIS Education