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Topic: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server (Read 3221 times) previous topic - next topic
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Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

I recently replaced my laptop (HP EliteBook 8770w, Windows 10 => Framework 16, Artix Linux). While I've gotten most of my apps/workflows moved to the new setup, I still have one major issue left. I can't connect to my VPN server. I'm running SoftEther VPN, and have been able to connect from other devices running:
  • Windows 10
  • macOS Mojave
  • Android 10-15

However, I have had mixed results for Linux clients. For some, they were able to connect -- but then have to manually set IP address and route(s). In my case, I can't connect at all. I've tried with both the official client (provided by SoftEther) and NetworkManager, with similar results. The error says "VPN connection failed" when testing with NetworkManager. I've tried pinging the VPN server hostname/IP address from the terminal, and I get a response back.

I'm not sure what is preventing me from connecting, and would like to know if anyone has been able to connect Artix Linux (as a client) to SoftEther VPN.

Re: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

Reply #1 –
You could try using the OpenVPN clone server feature of SoftEther and then getting it to produce a .ovpn file to be used by an openvpn client.
I don't know, but suspect, NetworkManager does not support the SoftEther  protocol ?
Maybe their client relies on systemd ?

All guesses except I just read SoftEther has the OpenVPN clone server feature.

Re: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

Reply #2 –
Quote from: gripped – on
You could try using the OpenVPN clone server feature of SoftEther and then getting it to produce a .ovpn file to be used by an openvpn client.
I don't know, but suspect, NetworkManager does not support the SoftEther  protocol ?
Maybe their client relies on systemd ?

All guesses except I just read SoftEther has the OpenVPN clone server feature.

I finally got the chance to test out the OpenVPN clone feature today, but I seem to have run into a different issue. The connection attempt fails, with the reason being "...the connection attempt timed out". This one has slightly more info, so I guess this is a start. I'll have to play around with the OpenVPN config a bit.

With L2TP/IPsec, the error would say "The VPN connection <connection_name> failed". This one is more vague, and doesn't tell me why it failed.

Still a bit strange, seeing that this same VPN serer can be reached by other devices, over both WiFi and cell data. At this point, I'm convinced that it's client configuration. But I can't quite tell what's misconfigured/missing yet :(


EDIT 0: After playing around with an OpenVPN client on Android, I've decided to try troubleshooting this as a certificate issue for a bit. The client, on Android, gives easy access to connection logs -- which is paramount for issues like this. I'll let you know how it goes...

sudo trust anchor myca.crt
sudo update-ca-trust

EDIT 1: That didn't seem to change anything. At this point, really wishing I could find the VPN connection logs for NetworkManager...
 

Re: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

Reply #3 –
I may try contacting NetworkManager (devs/community) directly, to see if they have anything I can report back here.

If all else fails, may try using a Docker container for this...

Re: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

Reply #5 –
It looks as though I won't get anywhere with the post I made on NetworkManager gitlab.

Perhaps there isn't enough info (though no one's replied to it, to let me know) ?

May have to try SoftEther VPN's forums next...

Re: Connecting to SoftEther VPN Server

Reply #6 –
So, I ended up using a Docker container to solve this one.

Ran the Docker container, for SoftEther VPN client, like this:

Code: [Select]
version: '3'

services:
    softether_client:
        restart: always
        image: softethervpn/vpnclient:latest
        devices:
            - /dev/net/tun:/dev/net/tun
        cap_add:
            - NET_ADMIN
        network_mode: "host"
        volumes:
            - "/etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro"
            - "/etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro"
            - "${HOME}/Docker/Volumes/SoftEtherVPN_Client/data:/var/lib/softether"
            - "${HOME}/Docker/Volumes/SoftEtherVPN_Client/log:/var/log/softether"
        #   - "${HOME}/Docker/Volumes/SoftEtherVPN_Client/adminip.txt:/var/lib/softether/adminip.txt:ro"

Then ran through the documented setup steps for vpncmd.