The server is ready. Now Priya's laptop.
Last lesson, the IT team set up the college VPN server and gave it Priya's public key. But the server is only half the job.
Priya's own device needs a connection that points at the server, holds her private key and says which traffic goes through. Then she can work from home.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Network | computers and devices joined together so they can share data |
| VPN client | the device or program at the user's end that makes the VPN connection |
| Endpoint | the address and port of the VPN server that the client connects to |
| DNS | a service that turns a name into an IP address |
| Packet | a small piece of data sent over a network |
| FQDN | fully qualified domain name, a full hostname such as vpn.college.example |
| IP address | the number that identifies a device on a network |
| Handshake | the first exchange in which the two ends check each other's keys |
| Keepalive | a small message sent now and then so the link stays open |
| Split tunnel | sending only some traffic through the VPN and the rest straight to the internet |
| Private key | the half of a key pair that you keep secret |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can set up a VPN client, point it at the server and choose what it may send through the tunnel.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Four things a client setting holds
- Create the connection: a small file holds the settings.
- Set the destination: the server's IP address or its FQDN, and its port.
- Set permissions: which traffic is allowed through the tunnel.
- Set conditions: for example keep the link alive, or connect only when asked.
Carry on in the lab
This lesson continues in the same lab. gwA is the client. The server gwB already has a config file and wg0 up, from the last lesson. If your lab was restarted, run that lesson's server steps again first.
Press Run on each command in order.
Give the server a name
echo '203.0.113.2 vpn.college.example' | sudo tee /etc/netns/gwA/hostsA command for the lesson’s lab terminal. It is shown here and not run.
Check that gwA can find the name
sudo ip netns exec gwA getent hosts vpn.college.exampleA command for the lesson’s lab terminal. It is shown here and not run.