How to set up GleSYS VPN (L2TP-over-IPsec) on Ubuntu 18.04

Introduction

You first need to create a VPN account to set up a VPN tunnel. In our control panel, go to the project you want to create a VPN user for. Go to More services, VPN users and press Create VPN. Enter a username (starting with clxxxxx_) and set a password there.

Note that if you are running Ubuntu 22.04, the instructions are different, and we have a separate guide here: Set up a VPN tunnel (L2TP-over-IPsec) in Ubuntu 22.04

Prerequisites

Open a terminal window and update the package lists with the following command:

sudo apt update

Then install the following packages:

sudo apt install network-manager-l2tp
sudo apt install network-manager-l2tp-gnome

Create a VPN profile

Click on the icon at the top right and then Settings.

Click Network and the plus sign (+) next to VPN to create a new profile.

Click on Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP).

Fill in pptp.glesys.com as the gateway and the login details you created in the control panel. The type should be Password.

Then click on the IPsec Settings button.

Under Pre-shared key, enter GleSYS

Under Phase1 Algorithms enter 3des-sha1-modp2048

Under Phase2 Algorithms enter 3des-sha1

Click OK

Click the PPP Settings button and make sure you have the following settings. Then click OK to save.

Click on Add to create the profile.

Now you are done with the configuration. Click the slider next to GleSYS L2TP VPN to activate the VPN tunnel.

A VPN icon appears in the top right corner when connected to the VPN tunnel. On the slider in the settings, you will also see that GleSYS VPN is active. Now you can connect to your server over VPN. When you want to disconnect from the tunnel, click the slider again.

If you are a GleSYS dedicated and colocation server customer: When connected to the VPN, you can now use the IPMI credentials provided to access your servers remotely, securely from anywhere.

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The article is validated: 2023-07-03