This is a very cheap way to run your dedicated VPN server, with $5/month on DigitalOcean.
1. Sign Up DigitalOcean
I have been using Digital Ocean for a long time and highly recommend it when you need a dedicated server.
Sign up DigitalOcean with my referral link, and get FREE $10 (that’s 2 months!) to start with.
When you do not need the VPN server any longer, you may shut it down anytime, and you won’t incur a thing.
2. Setup for SSH
Before you create your droplet, you must setup your computer for ssh-ing later on.
If you have never setup your RSA key pair, then you will have to run ssh-keygen first.
Copy the public key,
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub|pbcopy
Then paste that in DigitalOcean > Settings > Security > Add SSH Key.
3. Create Droplet (the server)
Create > Droplets > One-click apps > Docker 17.12.0 on 16.04 (latest version might differ)
Choose the cheapest $5/month droplet size, with 1 GB memory etc.
Choose the datacenter region which you want to VPN to eg. Singapore
Create a hostname eg. sg-vpn
Note down the IP for your droplet (the ipv4). My example uses 111.111.111.111.
4. Install OpenVPN
Now we get into the server and install the VPN service.
If you have trouble SSH in, make sure you setup your SSH keys in step 2 (will need to recreate droplet).
Run these docker commands, enter a PEM pass phrase when prompted (mandatory). Give a Common Name eg. “sg-vpn”.
OVPN_DATA="ovpn-data"
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_genconfig -u udp://111.111.111.111
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_initpki
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn -d -p 1194:1194/udp --cap-add=NET_ADMIN kylemanna/openvpn
Next, generate the ovpn file – a configuration that your computer can import later. In the example I have “sg-vpn.ovpn”.
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn easyrsa build-client-full user1 nopass
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_getclient user1 > sg-vpn.ovpn
We need to now exit ssh remote and go back to your computer.
exit
5. Install TunnelBlick
On your computer, download the ovpn file using scp.
# This copy the ovpn file (in /root) to the current directory you're in
scp -r [email protected]:/root/sg-vpn.ovpn .
Install TunnelBlick, a VPN client. You may use others.
Open or import the ovpn file, and enjoy your VPN (:
(Optional) Multiple Users
The steps above generates for a single user/device.
To support multiple device, repeat these steps:
# ssh to the machine and create for user2, and more
OVPN_DATA="ovpn-data"
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn easyrsa build-client-full user2 nopass
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_getclient user2 > sg-vpn-user2.ovpn
# On local computer
scp -r [email protected]:/root/sg-vpn-user2.ovpn .
(Optional) Running on custom port
To use a custom UDP port 8349 (instead of default 1194), replace with the following 3 lines:
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_genconfig -u udp://111.111.111.111:8349
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_initpki
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn -d -p 8349:1194/udp --cap-add=NET_ADMIN kylemanna/openvpn