Ubuntu and OpenVPN at Klagenfurt University

Have you ever wondered if you could use network manager to connect to the Klagenfurt University network? You can, and this is a short description on how to do it.

If you downloaded the script and executed it then you can easily use the network manager to connect/disconnect OpenVPN. You can put the following lines in a separate file called uni-klu.pcf (put it anywhere you like – just remember the location, you will need it later on):

[openvpn]
description=uni-klu
connection-type=x509
remote=143.205.212.10
port=1194
dev=tun
proto=tcp-client
servercert-insecure=no
ca=/etc/openvpn/ca.crt
cert=/etc/openvpn/USERNAME.ocrt
key=/etc/openvpn/USERNAME.okey
comp-lzo=no
shared-key=
local-ip=
remote-ip=
username=
cipher=
ta=
ta_dir=
routes=

Substitute USERNAME with your uni-klu username. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

OpenVPN plugin for network manager

You will need to install the OpenVPN plugin for network manager:

sudo apt-get install network-manager-openvpn

Setting up the OpenVPN plugin

Then logout and login into Gnome. You will see the network manager icon in the notification area (usually on the top-right of your screen) – click on it and select VPN Connections – Configure VPN…. Choose to Add a new configuration, then Forward and Forward. Then choose Import Saved Configuration… and select the file you created earlier. Check the entered values and then Forward, Apply.

After that you can connect using the network manager icon – goto VPN Connections and select uni-klu. As simple as that.