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    Can't connect to my own OpenVPN server now

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved OpenVPN
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    • S
      sos
      last edited by

      Thanks, johnpoz.

      It's perhaps not so much interesting, as at least confirming that my VPN server and client can connect with each other, just not from the WAN.

      My server is on a static IP now, and my webserver is accessible and resolving through the same public IP as the VPN server.

      The client is failing silently, as per the terminal message in my first post - but I will dig deeper into some logs and sniff some packets as suggested when I get a chance.

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      • S
        sos
        last edited by

        Ahem. Have now learnt all about the 'Packet Capture' feature under 'diagnostics'. It's always good to learn more about pfSense and take another step on the path to enlightenment :)

        Here is the result when I try to connect from my Android phone over 3G. It indicates that the packets are at least getting to pfSense:

        
        08:20:05.123926 AF IPv4 (2), length 86: (tos 0x0, ttl 54, id 23168, offset 0, flags [DF], proto UDP (17), length 82)
            xxx.xxx.xxx.xx.xxxx > 219.88.232.203.1194: [udp sum ok] UDP, length 54
        
        
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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by

          So that is a good thing.  But if your server is not showing a connection attempt then either your firewall rules are not allowing it to get to the openvpn server, or openvpn server is not running on the wan, or 1194 udp, etc.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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          • DerelictD
            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
            last edited by

            Again, why are you listening on LAN address and forwarding to LAN address?

            You do not need a port forward to run OpenVPN. All you need to to is tell the server to listen on WAN address and pass UDP 1194 from any to WAN address. Delete the port forward.

            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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            • S
              sos
              last edited by

              @Derelict:

              Again, why are you listening on LAN address and forwarding to LAN address?

              You do not need a port forward to run OpenVPN. All you need to to is tell the server to listen on WAN address and pass UDP 1194 from any to WAN address. Delete the port forward.

              Thanks again, guys.

              1. I'm listening on the WAN, UDP protocol, port 1194 - that was how I'd set up the packet capture, while trying to connect to the VPN using my android phone i.e from the WAN. I don't think I'm listening on the LAN and forwarding to a LAN address  ???

              2. As indicated in the 3rd post in this thread, I did follow your helpful advice and delete that port forward rule.

              3. Other than that, my firewall rules seem to be in order, and those udp packets are confirmed as arriving on port 1194 of the pfSense/openVPN host @ WAN IP 219.88.232.203. But they seem to be dying there, with nothing in the openVPN logs. I am trying to work out what the firewall is doing to them now.

              4. Temporarily disabling firewall/NAT allowed the client to connect.

              5. But I still cannot figure out which of my firewall rules is causing the issue  :'(

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              • J
                Jerod
                last edited by

                Any luck?

                I am having the same problem as you are. My tracer shows me hitting my pfsense, but doesn't allow me to connect. It hasn't worked for a about a month.

                Jerod

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                • S
                  sos
                  last edited by

                  No,sadly. I've put fixing it on the back burner until after Christmas, as I am probably going to have to try a fresh install.

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                  • A
                    AndyC
                    last edited by

                    Are you guys using Android devices to connect? I had the same issue and checked everything in pfsense. It turned out to be a problem with the power-saving feature in an Android update. Turning that off or adding OpenVPN Connect as an exception in power-saving made everything work again. Just a thought.

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                    • johnpozJ
                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                      last edited by

                      4. Temporarily disabling firewall/NAT allowed the client to connect.

                      Well post up rules, both on your wan, your floating and your nats..  And your openvpn config..  You sure actually listening on your wan??  Just removing a nat that sent to your lan IP doesn't change vpn to listen on your wan address.

                      Do a sockstat and lets where pfsense is listening for 1194

                      example

                      
                      [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfsense.local.lan]/root: sockstat -L | grep :1194
                      root     openvpn    25696 5  udp4   24.13.snipped:1194     *:*
                      [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfsense.local.lan]/root:
                      
                      

                      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S
                        sos
                        last edited by

                        I thought I had it cracked when I uninstalled pfBlockerNG and my android phone connected. As I had also relaxed my firewall rules (allow any from any), when I reinstituted the correct firewall rule (allow UDP:34982 on WAN address), it stopped working again. Resetting the any-from-any rule, it no longer connected again.

                        
                        [2.3.2-RELEASE][admin@ratiro-net.ratiro]/root: sockstat -L | grep :34982
                        root     openvpn    11123 6  udp4   *:34982               *:*
                        
                        

                        I have attached my firewall rules, NAT and openVPN config pages. There are no floating rules defined.

                        ![Screenshot from 2016-12-31 16-51-23.png](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screenshot from 2016-12-31 16-51-23.png)
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                        • T
                          TechnologicalLiving
                          last edited by

                          I think that you're trying this via celluar, correct?  If so, your carrier wouldn't be T-Mobile would it?

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                          • S
                            sos
                            last edited by

                            @TechnologicalLiving:

                            I think that you're trying this via celluar, correct?  If so, your carrier wouldn't be T-Mobile would it?

                            Yes to cellular (3G), but no to T-Mobile… it's 2-degrees/vodafone (NZ)

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                            • H
                              hp408
                              last edited by

                              I have exactly the same problem. Tried it with android and surface 4. T-Mobile and Vodafone (both LTE) cellular network: I can't connect to the openvpn-server.

                              Server listens to port 1194:

                              [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfs.local.net]/root: sockstat -L | grep :1194
                              root     openvpn    16667 6  udp4   95.88.x.x:1194    *:*
                              [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfs.local.net]/root:
                              
                              

                              WAN-Rule:
                              (red0 = WAN)

                              OpenVPN-Rule:

                              I deactivated my WAN-failover and all outgoing vpn-connections (all on other ports) for testing but it didn't work.  :-\

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                              • DerelictD
                                Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                last edited by

                                Packet capture on RED0 for UDP 1194 and try to connect and verify connection attempts are actually arriving on RED0 Address.

                                Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S
                                  sos
                                  last edited by

                                  I've reset my pfSense setup back to factory default, and just re-set up my openVPN server using the wizard, before setting any other services or firewall rules up.

                                  Glad to report that all is working, using my android phone and linux clients, via a 3G connection.

                                  As I carefully rebuild the rest of my configs, I'll keep checking functionality and may retrospectively be able to figure out what caused the issue in my case. Perhaps there was some stale firewall rule or state. Will report back if I find anything, but in the meantime, thanks for all the suggestions.

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                                  • H
                                    hp408
                                    last edited by

                                    @sos:

                                    I've reset my pfSense setup back to factory default, and just re-set up my openVPN server using the wizard, before setting any other services or firewall rules up.

                                    Glad to report that all is working, using my android phone and linux clients, via a 3G connection.

                                    As I carefully rebuild the rest of my configs, I'll keep checking functionality and may retrospectively be able to figure out what caused the issue in my case. Perhaps there was some stale firewall rule or state. Will report back if I find anything, but in the meantime, thanks for all the suggestions.

                                    Yesterday, I did the same: reset to factory defaults -> start new configuration with openvpn-server first and now it works ???
                                    After setting up the ovpn-server, I reconfigured all (nat-)rules, snort, webproxy, vpn-clients, outgoing vpn-failover and wan-failover and did a connection test after every single step, without any errors. Now the configuration is exactly the same as before and openvpn-server is reachable. So I
                                    have no idea what the problem might have been.

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