Help/advice request please.

[Charles Swiger]

On Nov 16, 2015, at 1:38 PM, Dave B <g8kbvdave at gmail.com> wrote:
> Trying to figure out how to get openvpn setup, ultimately for a small number of 
> traveling client machines (Linux and Windows) all owned by myself, for my own 
> personal use.
> 
> Is there any (in plain english) "how-to's" out there, that actually work?

Sure.  Use preshared static keys, documented here:

https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/miscellaneous/78-static-key-mini-howto.html <https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/miscellaneous/78-static-key-mini-howto.html>

Use client certs when you're supporting dozens of different users, not one.

> In particular, in regards to creating a self-signed CA (and the other needed) 
> certificates, working at the command line.
> 
> I'm falling over with the (undocumented) various user input data fields.
> For example, it's taken me a full week, to find out that my country code is not 
> UK, or 44, but GB!
> 
> But there is no guidance as to what the other field values should (or should 
> not) be.  Such as region/state etc.

x.509 PKI cryptography is hard.  Running your own CA is sufficient work that most
people pay good money for certs rather than doing it themselves.

Regards,
-- 
-Chuck