Hostwinds offers a number of ready-to-use templates and application installation scripts for your convenience. If you need a VPN, OpenVPN is a fantastic option which is free and widely supported across a plethora of operating systems and devices. This guide will detail how to install OpenVPN on a Cloud VPS
What Is OpenVPN?
OpenVPN is an open-source VPN client that can enable remote connections through an encrypted, private tunnel. It is used for many purposes, including remote connections, privacy and more. OpenVPN supports many default VPN features that would be expected from a VPN Server.
In this guide, we will explain how to create a new server with OpenVPN as well as how to reinstall an existing server to have OpenVPN using the Hostwinds Cloud Portal.
Creating A New OpenVPN Server
Just follow these steps to create a new OpenVPN VPS:
Step 1: Log into your Client Area at https://clients.hostwinds.com. This will bring you to your list of active services.
Step 2: Select Cloud Control and then click on Cloud Portal from the drop-down menu. This takes you to the Hostwinds Cloud Control Portal.
Step 3: Click on the Create button, and select Servers from the drop-down menu. This takes you to the page that allows you to configure your new server.
Step 4: Under Select Server Image, click on Applications in the navigation menu. From here, you can select the desired image, application, or ISO image to install.
Step 5: Click on OpenVPN option from the list of Applications. You’ll then click move on to choose other VPS configurations.
Step 6: Select your server resources, location, and billing cycle, and select Create Server at the very bottom.
Step 7: Connect to your server via SSH and run the command cat/root/details.txt
Step 8: utilize the details in the details.txt notice to configure your OpenVPN client.
Reinstall OpenVPN On An Existing VPS / Cloud Server
The following steps will let you reinstall your current VPS with OpenVPN installed. Please note that this will erase and destroy and data on the server to reinstall it.
We highly suggest that you take a snapshot backup of your server prior to reinstalling an application in case if you need to restore your server or it’s data.
Step 1: Log into your Client Area at https://clients.hostwinds.com
Step 2: Select Cloud Control and then click on Cloud Portal from the drop down menu. This will lead you to the Cloud Portal page.
Step 3: Click the name of the server intended to be used for OpenVPN.
Step 4: Click on the Actions option, and then select Reinstall from the drop down menu. A new overlay will display showing the various options for installation.
Step 5: Under Select Server Image, click on the Applications menu item. Be sure to select the correct option, as installing the wrong one will require another installation.
Step 6: Click on OpenVPN option.
Please allow up to 30 minutes for the application to complete initial installation.
Step 7: Connect to your server via SSH and run the command below. This document contains the relevant details needed to connect to the VPN hosted on the VPS.
cat /root/details.txt
Please write down or save the information displayed someplace secure, as the Database username and password are required for Step 8.
Step 8: You may now use the /root/details.txt information to connect to your VPN using an OpenVPN-Compatible client.