How to Setup GleSYS VPN (L2TP/IPsec) on Windows 11

Introduction

A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your data and hides your IP address on a public network. It is one of the most common solutions for protecting internet privacy and security.

The acronym L2TP stands for Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol. However, as L2TP lacks strong encryption and authentication, it is typically used alongside another protocol known as IPsec.

GleSYS VPN lets you remotely access dedicated and colocation servers in our shared space using IPMI. This guide will walk you through the steps to set up a VPN connection on Windows 11.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you must create a VPN account in GleSYS Cloud. In our control panel, navigate to the project you want to create a VPN user. Go to More services, VPN users and press the + Create button. You enter a username (begins with clxxxxx_) and set a password there.

Add VPN configuration

To configure the VPN manually, go to the Windows Start Menu, and in the search bar, enter "VPN settings" and press enter. Click on Open.

Press the Add VPN button, and follow the steps below.

1. Enter GleSYS VPN as the Connection name.
2. Register pptp.glesys.com as the Server name or address.
3. Click "Automatic" for VPN type, then select "L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key".
4. In the Pre-shared key field, enter GleSYS.
5. For Username (optional), use the username you created when setting up your VPN account in GleSYS Cloud. Your username will have a specific project ID as a prefix (clxxxxx_), depending on what project the VPN account belongs to. Your full username is displayed in our control panel and should look like cl12345_username.
6. For Password (optional), enter the password you created when setting up your VPN account.

Finally, press the Save button.

Quick Configuration with Windows PowerShell

To complete step 1 to 4 at once, you can copy the following command and run it in a PowerShell window as administrator:

Add-VpnConnection -Name "GleSYS-VPN" -ServerAddress "pptp.glesys.com" -TunnelType "L2tp" -AuthenticationMethod Eap -L2tpPsk "GleSYS" -Force -RememberCredential

Connect to VPN

You can now access a new account called GleSYS VPN by going to VPN connections and clicking the Connect button. Wait for your Windows device to establish a VPN connection.

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.