Installation and Usage of OpenVPN with Windows 10+
Installation
Download the OpenVPN-software for windows
Run the Installer using double-click. Windows might prompt for privileged access to complete the installation.
Follow the instructions of the setup assistant.
OpenVPN will be started automatically and will complain about missing configuration files on first start. You can ingore the message, because we will import the necessary configuration files in the following steps. If you already had these files imported from an earlier setup, you will be able to overwritte them with new files. Either way, the procedure stays the same.
Download the configuration files for university of passau.
Extract the downloaded archive and enter the resulting folder, if windows did not already do that for you. You can find 4 configuration files in the subfolder config\client. Each configuration file represents a VPN profile that has to be used depending on your location and affiliation.
Each profile can be imported using a 'double-click' on the file. OpenVPN will prompt for confirmation/replacement of the profile. Repeat this for each profile. The setup is no complete.
Sometimes it can happen that some dialogs are hidden behind other open windows. If the setup does not complete or something seems "stuck", check if there is a dialog in the background on your task bar waiting for input.
Usage
Start OpenVPN
After successfull installation, openvpn will be started automatically upon system start. If not, you can find the icon named "OpenVPN GUI" on your desktop. Double-click this icon to start the openvpn controller software.
The OpenVPN status icon is located in the system tray of your taskbar (usually bottom-right corner):
The icon displays the connection state using colors. No color means no OpenVPN connection has been established. During a connection attempt the color will be yellow and a green icon means an openvpn connection is active.
Connect OpenVPN
Right-click on the openvpn status icon in your system tray:
You have to pick one of the imported connection profiles, depending on you affiliation and current location.
| Who? | Where? | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Campusnetz (University campus) | pers-pub |
| Student | Campusnetz (University campus) | stud-pub |
| Employee | Internet (e.g. from home) | pers-ext |
| Student | Internet (e.g., from home) | stud-ext |
After you clicked 'Connect' on one of the profiles, you have to authenticate using your username and pasword:
The connection will be established after a while (may take up to 30 seconds). A successfull connection is reported in the status icon:
If you have problems with the authentication you will get the username and password prompt again. Please check the following common problems:
- Did you enter your username and pasword correctly?
- Is your password still valid and do you have enough emergency logins available?
- Do you have another VPN connection with the same credentials active? Only one connection profile can be opened per user simultaneously. After an unexpected connection loss it can take a few minutes until the server accepts a new connection from the same user.
- Did you pick the correct profile for your account and location?
- Try again after a few minutes. There might have been a temporary issue on the server side that might have resolved itself in the meantime.
Disconnect OpenVPN
Right-click the openvpn status icon. The active profile has a checkmark. Select the profile and click "Disconnect":
If you disconnect your network connection without disconnecting openvpn first, it will take a few minutes until the server will clean up the inactive connection and allow a reconnect. During this time you might be unable to connect using openvpn. We recommend to disconnect the openvpn connection before you terminate the network connection.