I currently run a VPN server on my mac running Catalina. Despite a good amount of googling, I can't seem to find anything to confirm if Big Sur also supports running a VPN server. Does anyone know, or can point me to something for more info? Thanks.
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VPN server?
- Thread starter Paco II
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I am not surprised that is doesn't work on BS. Bound to need lots of effort to get it working.
Have you asked the Bernard Teo if Apple have fixed the bug that prevented IPSec VPN Server working in Catalina? That would be a better (semi-supported) way if it can now work correctly. I note that racoon and pppd are still included with BS (in /usr/sbin) and the com.apple.racoon launch daemon is also included.
Have you contacted the SoftEther VPN developers?
I gave up on VPN Server after Mojave. I would get a linux or pfsense box if it were essential.
You’ve inspired me to get a Raspberry Pi to serve as a stand-alone VPN server.
NordVPN is not a VPN server; it's a service that runs its own VPN servers to disguise your IP address or location.
I'm trying to set up OpenVPN Enabler for Catalina right now, but when I'm connected to my VPN server I'm unable to access Screen Sharing (VNC) or File Sharing via SMB. Were you able to do those thing when you were using OpenVPN Enabler for Catalina? Anything special that you had to set up? Thanks.
Yes. The IP will not be the local LAN IP you’re expecting. It will be a separate IP as defined by the server. Once you have that you should be set.
Thanks for the reply! Hmm, unfortunately Screen Sharing just still isn't working for me when I'm connected to the VPN Server. Oddly, I'm able to Screen Share and view the screen of other Macs on my home network while I'm connected, but the Mac that's hosting the VPN server never connects when I try to share its screen.
Everything used to work flawlessly on my old High Sierra server running the VPN Server built into the macOS Server app. But unfortunately Apple removed VPN from the Server app for Catalina.
That's why I'm trying to get OpenVPN Enabler for Catalina running, and for the most part it's great (when I do a "what's my IP" Google search, it's indeed the IP of my home internet), but I'm not able to get Screen Sharing or File Sharing to work on the computer that runs the VPN server...
Also, if you weren't already aware, it looks like the developer has released a new version for Big Sur, which even includes support for M1 Macs! https://cutedgesystems.com/software/openvpnenablerforBigSur/
Its a while since I tried this (and gave up!!). I suspect your problem is that the other computers in your network don't have the correct network routing information to route traffic (destined for the VPN client) via the VPN server Mac.
When the IPSec server was working, it would use part of your local network address range for VPN clients and get the Mac to listen for network packets destined for that IP range as well as its own IP address. So no need to mess with routing tables on all other computers in the local network.
I looks like Apple does not intend to fix this (maybe it conflicts with other lockdowns in Catalina and BS?).
The only clean solution is to use a home router/gateway which incorporates a VPN server.
You’ll need to find the IP that server is giving to the machine that it is running on. It’s not the LAN IP you’re expecting. What IP range is the VPN server giving out?
Fwiw, in the end I opted to just get a cheap raspberry pi and run a WireGuard server on it. Works great, and there is the security advantage of it being isolated.
I just used the defaults that OpenVPN Enabler added in when I clicked "Suggest IP Addresses." The VPN itself works great; I just can't do Screen Sharing / VNC, which is super annoying.
If I can't get it to working right, maybe I'll try the Raspberry Pi idea too.
When connected to your VPN server, you will be able to access other network devices via their standard 192 LAN IPs. But to connect to the device the VPN server is running on, you will need to connect to a 10.8.x,x IP. IF you dig into the logs, you should be able to determine what IP the server device is getting from the VPN server. Or just try addresses starting at 10.8.0.1 and working up.
That worked! Thanks so much for taking the time to explain it to me. And thanks for being patient with the fact that I hijacked your thread, haha. Thanks again!
Glad you got it sorted. No worries. As mentioned I’ve moved to using a RPi. Happy with this solution for now.
what speeds are you seeing with this? Connected via Ethernet I’m assuming? Can you point to a good guide that got you up and running?
Never set up my own VPN server but now that I’m about to get fiber, have a STRONG desire to!!!
Yeah connected via Ethernet to my gigabit switch. Pretty much maxing out my home internet speeds, so basically the speeds I’m seeing are as good as possible. No complaints!
Set up was easy. Got an RPi kit on Amazon that has everything needed. Used PiVPN to set up the WireGuard server. Initial set up of the RPi took a little time as expected, and the WireGuard setup with pivpn was very fast and easy.
You will need to have some familiarity with port forwarding and related networking know how, but nothing complex.
Very happy to have a dedicated and isolated WireGuard server. When traveling I use a travel router with built in WireGuard client. All my devices easily connect to it and are secured by the VPN.
I have been using iVPN for a few years now. It works pretty well, until Big Sur came along. After a lot of testing, the best option I found is to simply run MOJAVE with Parallels Desktop, install iVPN on it and everything is OK. I'll be happy to give more information for those who want it.
Wireguard works on Mac OS 11 and there’s no real distinction between client and server. Also Tilescale is good if you just want to access tha Mac that it’s running on.
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