How to set up VPN tunnel from Linode server to a private network?
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I'm seeking advice on how to connect my home network to a Linode server, so I can use the Linode server as a gateway into my home network.
Problem: we've moved to a new house in a rural area, and our internet provider has a bizarre wireless system that does not provide us a public IP. At our previous house, I used OpenVPN running on pfSense to provide a secure means to access our home network when I was on the road. I wish to have a similar capability now, but the lack of a public IP address complicates things.
I hope to use a Linode server as a means to solve this problem, by setting up some sort of secure tunnel (VPN or SSH?) between the pfSense box and the Linode server. The Linode server is currently running Ubuntu 16.04, but I could change to some other OS if that would make things easier.
I need to access several systems running on the the home network via SSH, WebDAV and VNC. What little I know suggests that a VPN tunnel would be better than an SSH tunnel, as I need access to several ports on multiple servers. However, while I've studied the docs, my limited networking knowledge isn't sufficient to understand how to set this up.
Thanks,
Kevin
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I have this working with the following:
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Linode $5/mo server with static IP and one nic running pfSense
- BSD is not supported directly but there's a doc for installing it
- Use the console to allow GUI access via public IP -
Local pfSense instance with 2 nics (WAN/LAN). I'm using an ESXi VM with 1 GB ram.
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Easy set up for site-to-site OpenVPN VPN to local pfSense VM using shared key. Linode=server, local=client
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Set local pfSense default gateway to remote tunnel IP so all local LAN traffic uses VPN
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Set up port forwarding on Linode pfSense to remote LAN IP for incoming services like RDP, HTTP, or SMTP
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Domains can be configured to point to the Linode static IP if desired
Now, regardless of how or where the local pfSense connects to the internet, a terabyte of traffic per month transits the static IP and you have a great firewall on the static IP for security. ALL FOR $5/MO!!! I be lovin' me some Linode and pfSense.
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@scooter17 Thank you for this excellent solution. I can quite easily deploy an OpenVPN Linode. https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/openvpn-marketplace-app/
This seems much easier than loading BSD and PFsense, but I assume you found that you needed more than the OpenVPN capability.
I am relatively new to self hosting, and any learnings or reasons for one route or the other would help me.