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    OpenVPN Manager always connects to the 1st config

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved pfSense Packages
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    • P
      phil.davis
      last edited by

      pfSense 2.1-RC0, OpenVPN Client Export Utility 1.0.7
      Windows7 OpenVPN 2.3.2-I001, OpenVPN Manager 0.0.3.6

      I have installed 2 configs for OpenVPN links to 2 different offices. Whichever one I select from OpenVPN Manager, it always uses the 1st config file to connect, and thus goes to the 1st office. I can't get it to even try and connect to the 2nd office.

      This behaviour was the same with the previous Client Export Utility. I guess it is a bug in OpenVPN Manager, as that is still the same version as before. I removed all trace of OpenVPN and OpenVPN Manager from my laptop and reinstalled from the new Client Export version 1.0.7 to see if it would help.

      In the screenshot, the window title has the correct config that I selected, but in the text it loads stuff from another config. It ends up connecting to the other office successfully.

      Anyone else experienced this?
      OpenVPN-Manager-problem.png
      OpenVPN-Manager-problem.png_thumb

      As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
      If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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      • P
        phil.davis
        last edited by

        I tried OpenVPN Manager 0.0.3.8 - the latest release. Now it works fine, the selected config is the one that is actually used.
        It is a little tricky to get rid of OpenVPN Manager 0.0.3.6, it doesn't have a nice uninstall:
        a) Copy all the config files from C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\OpenVPN Manager\config and save them somewhere.
        b) Delete the OpenVPNManagger service:

        sc delete OpenVPNManager
        c) Delete C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\OpenVPN Manager  (this folder and everything under it)

        OpenVPN Manager 0.0.3.8 is much better.
        The pre-built Windows installer is here: http://openvpn.jowisoftware.de/downloads/
        The source code is here: https://github.com/jochenwierum/openvpn-manager
        It installs to its own folder in Program Files, and has a Control Panel/Programs entry of its own.
        After installing 0.0.3.8, copy the config files to:
        C:\Program Files\OpenVPN Manager\config

        Can the OpenVPN Manager built into the Client Export Utility be updated to 0.0.3.8 please?

        As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
        If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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        • jimpJ
          jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
          last edited by

          It can be updated, but I don't recall for sure who did the initial integration. I don't know if we can take those files as-is or if there was some other bit to it.

          If it's as easy as grabbing their windows binary and putting it into the tarball we usually use, that's simple, I do that all the time when the OpenVPN client gets upgraded.

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          • P
            phil.davis
            last edited by

            Now I see that openvpn-postinstall.nsi makes a sub-dir of OpenVPN - OpenVPN/OpenVPNManager and just copies the OpenVPNManager file tree into there, then adds a desktop shortcut. That is why it is "installed" where it is when the client export utility is used, and why the "install" does not show up in the control panel programs list.
            OpenVPNManager 0.0.3.8 should also be able to be copied in place like this, no point trying to reinvent how it is done.
            The tarball needs the new exe, dll etc files in the client-export\template\openvpnmanager folder, like in the screenshot, but the InstallLog, InstallState and uninst.exe are not needed. The "de" folder has a dll that needs to be updated. These could all be got by doing an ordinary install and then taking copies of the files.
            But there are new OpenVPNManagerService.exe* files, so the way of starting the service has changed, and some code in openvpn-postinstall.nsi needs to change to correctly install the service.
            If PiBa-NL on GitHub could look at this it would be easy, since he submitted the 0.0.3.6 stuff last year.

            As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
            If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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            • P
              phil.davis
              last edited by

              Hmmm - I was just trying to connect to the 2nd of my OpenVPN-Manager defined links, and it sent me to the first link, even though I am using 0.0.3.8. So something odd is going on, as I'm sure it worked OK the other day. I will report to OpenVPNManager and post back if any news.

              As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
              If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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              • A
                adam65535
                last edited by

                It is good to see some info about OpenVPN Manager.  I was very surprised to see that Admin privileges are needed to enable openvpn tunnels (because of the routes that need to be added from what I have read).  I am aware that if you don't need to manually put passwords in there is a workaround so that at login they connect automatically but we require passwords and it normally should not be started.  Only when needed should the user connect.  This would be a perfect solution except for the issue brought up here with multiple configs.

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                • P
                  phil.davis
                  last edited by

                  See here for some discussion: https://github.com/jochenwierum/openvpn-manager/issues/17
                  OpenVPN Manager needs to use a different management channel for each OpenVPN client that it can control. A default config generated by the client export utility has:

                  # open management channel
management 127.0.0.1 166

                  The 166 needs to be replaced by a different number for each client that is going to be available on the same end-user laptop.
                  I will submit pull requests for code to allow this to be specified and put in the client export utility generated configs…

                  As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
                  If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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