Click Here to request login credentials, certificates and keys.

  Click Here for the OpenVPN connection guide (DOC) or here for the PDF version.

  Click Here for the general OpenVPN page.

  Click Here to download VPN Client Package from the internal server.

  Click Here to visit the official OpenVPN page.



Basics

What is OpenVPN?
Why OpenVPN?
What do I need to connect?
What are these files that I received?
What are OVPN files?
How do I connect using the OpenVPN client?
When entering the command to connect I get "'openvpn' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.". (Windows)
When entering the command to connect I receive a 'permission denied' or ACL related error/warning. (Windows)
When I enter the command to connect I receive "-bash: openvpn: command not found". (Linux/Solaris/BSD/Mac OSX)
When I enter the command to connect I receive "-bash: openvpn: permission denied" (Linux/Solaris/BSD/Mac OSX)
I forgot my secret passphrase.
I lost my certificates/keys.
When I try to connect I receive an error similar to "Cannot load certificate file" or "Cannot load key file".


What is OpenVPN?
OpenVPN is an open source SSL VPN client/server application. For the sake of simplicity we will only concentrate on the 'client aspects' of the application, and it may thus be incorrectly referred to as 'the client' in this documentation.

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Why OpenVPN?
To find out more about the reason that @Pel.Net is enforcing file transfers to take place of secured VPNs see the explaination Here.

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What do I need to connect?
The simple answer is a compatible client. Though other clients may be available, this documentation focuses on the usage and implementation of the OpenVPN client. As well as a working client, you will also need several files which will be sent you upon processing your request and your passphrase. See 'What are these files that I received' below.

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What are these files that I received?
Upon processing your request for access, a number of files will be sent to you. Do not delete these files as you will need them to establish a connection. Usually, your 'client name' is your first name combined with the first letter of your surname, e.g. John Smith would become "johns". If you already possess an @Pel.Net Domain account you will probably be familiar with this naming scheme. Here is a list of files for the example user 'John Smith':
- johns.crt (This is the personal certificate generated for the user.)
- johns.key (This is the personal key file generated for the user.)
- ca.crt (This is the certification authority certificate. It is not user specific.)
- ta.key (This is the HMAC security key for TLS authentication. It is also not user specific.)
- pel.net.ovpn (This is a sample OpenVPN client configuration file. See 'What are OVPN files?' below.)

What are OVPN files?
The .ovpn extension is used for OpenVPN files under Microsoft Windows, as it determines the nature of a file by its extension. If you are using any other operating system, you can rename the file to any other name and/or extension. The default on *NIX systems is '.conf'. Note that this configuration file includes the locations of the certificates and key files required for the connection. If you change their location, you will need to edit the configuration file to reflect the changes.

How do I connect using the OpenVPN client?
This question depends on your flavor of client and platform. We recommend not to install the OpenVPN package on Windows systems, as the OpenVPN GUI package provides easier usage of the service.

Windows (OpenVPN binary):
- Open a shell (go to Start, click on Run and type in 'cmd', then press Enter or click OK. Alternatively, you can press WinKey + R to open the Run dialog.)
- Navigate to your OpenVPN program directory (typically by typing 'cd %PROGRAMFILES%\OpenVPN' and pressing Enter.)
- Run the OpenVPN binary with the OVPN configuration file as a syntax (typically by typing '.\bin\openvpn.exe .\config\pel.net.ovpn' and pressing Enter).
- You should see a message appear in the shell asking you to enter a password. Please enter your private passphrase and press Enter again.

Windows (OpenVPN GUI):
- Launch OpenVPN GUI if it is not already running in the system tray. OpenVPN GUI creates a new group in the Start Menu during the installation.
- Make sure all files are in place: The .ovpn file should be located in the 'config' subdirectory of the OpenVPN installation (usually C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config\) and all keys and certificates should be located in the 'keys' subdirectory (usually C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\keys\). Note that you can change the location of the keys, as long as these changes are also made to .ovpn configuration file. The .ovpn configuration file must reside the 'config' subdirectory for OpenVPN GUI to find it, and to display the relevant menu entries.
- Right click on the OpenVPN GUI icon in the system tray and navigate to the submenu with your client name (in the example above, this would be called 'johns').
- Click on 'connect' within this submenu and a new dialog should be shows which will prompt you to enter a password. Please enter your private passphrase and press Enter.
- The dialog should dissappear after a few seconds and the OpenVPN GUI 'globe' symbol should turn to green.

Linux/Solaris/BSD/Mac OSX:
- Open a shell (BASH is recommended, but not compulsary).
- Assuming that the OpenVPN binary is in your $PATH environment variable, enter 'openvpn /path/to/the/ovpn.file' and press Enter (typically this file should be located in /usr/local/openvpn/ or your $HOME directory).
- You should see a message appear in the shell asking you to enter a password. Please enter your private passphrase and press Enter again.

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When entering the command to connect I get "'openvpn' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.". (Windows)
This implies that the file is not located in the right place, or you are entering the command incorrectly taking your current working directory into consideration. Try performing a search for "openvpn.exe", then navigate to the parent folder and enter the command again.

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When entering the command to connect I receive a 'permission denied' or ACL related error/warning. (Windows)
This occurs if you are not a local administrator of the computer, or there is a policy overriding this type of action. It may also occur if you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, in which case you may need to run 'cmd.exe' or 'openvpngui.exe' as Administrator (depending on which you are using). To do so, open the Run dialog by pressing WinKey + R and entering 'runas /USER:Administrator cmd.exe'. When prompted enter your Administrator password and press Enter. Now repeat the connection command.

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When I enter the command to connect I receive "-bash: openvpn: command not found". (Linux/Solaris/BSD/Mac OSX)
This occurs if the openvpn binary file is not located in a directory which is included in your $PATH variable. To check the $PATH variable, enter 'echo $PATH' in the shell and press Enter. To add a directory to the $PATH variable you can use 'export PATH=$PATH:/new/path/'. You can also symlink the openvpn binary to a location included in $PATH by default with 'ln -s /path/to/openvpn /path/that/is/included/openvpn'.

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When I enter the command to connect I receive "-bash: openvpn: permission denied" (Linux/Solaris/BSD/Mac OSX)
This generally occurs if the binary file is not marked as executable or has incorrect permissions for your usage. To set the executable flag and resolve the issue you can use 'chmod u+x /path/to/openvpn'.

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I forgot my secret passphrase.
There is no way to recover your passphrase. Please use the Contact option at the bottom of this page or send an email to the administrator explaining the problem and a new passphrase will be sent to you. Don't forget to include an email address or telephone number if you use the Contact form.

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I lost my certificates/keys.
The keys and certificates can be recoverd without any change to the passphrase. If you have lost/forgotten your passphrase too, please mention this in your request using the Contact form that the bottom of this page or by sending an email.

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When I try to connect I receive an error similar to "Cannot load certificate file" or "Cannot load key file".
This generally occurs when the .ovpn configuration file does not include the right paths to the key and certificate files. Ensure that these paths are correct by editing the configuration file with a text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows). Note that you must use double backslashes instead of single ones when defining the paths on a Windows system (e.g. the path "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\keys\ca.crt" would become "C:\\Program Files\\OpenVPN\\keys\\ca.crt").

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