Setting up OpenVPN semi-manually

[Bill Davidsen]

Jonathan Underwood wrote:
> 2009/7/13 Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>:
>> I have a VPN gateway using OpenVPN, running a custom distribution. It has
>> keys which were generated by hand, installed by hand, etc. It has no GUI, no
>> X, firewall only.
>>
>> I am looking for a doc on how I take a key from a file on the server, and
>> install it using the NetworkManager. Just poking the GUI didn't make it
>> obvious, I got one working by taking NM out and installing by hand using my
>> Slackware notes, but that's really ugly.
> 
> Did you try ricght clicking on the NM applet, selecting "edit
> connections" and then chosing the VPN tab? There i see a "import"
> button amongst other things? I've never used this functionality
> though, so I am just guessing.
> 
Yes, that's why I asked. It turns out that nothing I could do in NM was going to 
be useful, because NM runs too late, no matter how many "start this at boot" 
boxes I click, it doesn't, so all the things I want to do using the tunnel fail.

AFAIK the answer is to hack it into the end of the network startup in 
rc.whatever, so that it has a connection with the outside world. That means 
killing NM and using nice sane network config, and it seems to work just fine.

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot