How to Set up SoftEther VPN Client on Linux

In this tutorial we will show you how to set up SoftEther VPN Client on Linux but first let’s see what are our requirements and recommendations.

If you still want to set up SoftEther VPN on Linux, go step-by-step through following instructions:

Part I. Install SoftEther VPN client

We’ll show you how to install the SoftEther VPN client on Linux. You can do this in two ways: from package manager on Ubuntu or other Debian Derivates [x86_64 or AMD 64 machines] and from source on Linux distributives. Choose the way you want to use from the menu below and follow its steps.

• From package manager
• From source

Part II. Configure SoftEther VPN client

1. Start the SoftEther VPN client:sudo /usr/vpnclient/vpnclient start

   If you see this message: “The SoftEther VPN Client service has been started.” then the SoftEther VPN client has successfully started.

2. Check the SoftEther VPN client:vpncmd
3. Select “3” to enter “Use of VPN Tools (certificate creation and Network Traffic Speed Test Tool)”.
4. Test the SoftEther VPN Client installation:Check

   If all the checks are passed, you can go to the next step.

   Important! Do not go to the next step until you do not correct all the errors.

5. Press “Ctrl” + “C” or “Ctrl” + “D” to exit.
6. Set up SoftEther VPN client. Start configuration with:vpncmd
7. Select “2. Management of VPN Client”.
8. Do not enter any addresses at “Hostname of IP Address of Destination” and press “Enter” to connect to the localhost.
9. Create a virtual interface to connect to the VPN server. In the SoftEther VPN configuration type:NicCreate vpn_se
10. Create an account that will use this interface for the VPN connection. Run this command in the terminal:AccountCreate cactusvpn
11. Set up VPN account with your details.”Destination Virtual Hub Name”: cactusvpn

    “Destination VPN server Host Name and Port Number”: {VPN IP address}:{SoftEther VPN Port}

    You can find all the available servers and ports in your account on our website, by going to Settings.

    “Connecting User Name”: {your VPN username}

    You can find your username in your account on our website, by going to Settings. Make sure you use your VPN username and NOT the website account one (What is the difference?).

    “Used Virtual Network Adapter Name”: vpn_se

    If you get the “The command completed successfully.” message, it means that the account creation was successfully finished.

    

12. Set up a password:AccountPassword cactusvpn

    and enter your VPN password for “Password” and “Confirm input”.

    You can find your password in your account on our website, by going to your service details. Make sure you use your VPN password and NOT the website account one (What is the difference?).

13. At “Specify standard or radius:” type radius
14. Connect to the SoftEther VPN client using the created account:AccountConnect cactusvpn
15. Test the connection to the VPN server:AccountList

    If you see “Connected” you can go to the next step.

    

16. Press “Ctrl” + “C” or “Ctrl” + “D” to exit the SoftEther VPN Client manager.

Part III. IP and routing table

1. Check if the IP forward is enabled on your system:cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

   If you get “1” you can skip this step and go to the “Obtain an IP address from the VPN server” step.

   If you have “0”, please enable IP forward:

   echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

   You can also make it permanent by editing the “/etc/sysctl.conf” file:

   echo net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 >> /etc/sysctl.conf && sysctl -p

   If you get “net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1” the IP forward was successfully enabled.

2. Obtain an IP address from the VPN server:sudo ifconfig

   and you’ll see the virtual network “vpn_vpn_se” created with SoftEther VPN client tool.

   

   To get an IP address from the VPN server:

   sudo dhclient vpn_vpn_se

   After a few moments you should get an IP address from the 10.6.0.0/24 network.

   

3. Edit the routing table:sudo netstat -rn

   to see the current routing table. Yours should be similar to this:

   

4. Add a route to the VPN server’s IP address via your old default route. In my specific case:sudo ip route add 93.115.92.240/32 via 192.168.0.1

   The 93.115.92.240 is the IP address of the VPN server. The 192.168.0.1 is my previous gateway.

5. Delete the old default route:sudo ip route del default via 192.168.0.1

   After these updates, the routing table should look like this:

   

6. Ping any IP address to check your network connection:ping 8.8.8.8 -c4
7. Check your public IP address from the command line:wget -qO- http://ipecho.net/plain ; echo

   If you see the VPN server’s IP, everything was set up correctly and your Linux is connected to the VPN via SoftEther VPN client.

   If the ping to the “8.8.8.8” is OK but you can not retrieve anything else by public hostname, add Google DNS (or any Public DNS server) to your “/etc/resolv.conf” file:

   sudo echo nameserver 8.8.8.8 >> /etc/resolv.conf

Part IV. Disconnect from VPN

To turn the VPN connection OFF you need to close SoftEther VPN Client manager and edit the routing table to get the access to the Internet via your router’s gateway.

1. To disconnect from VPN simply turn OFF the SoftEther VPN Client manager:sudo /usr/vpnclient/vpnclient stop
2. Edit the routing table by deleting the route from your gateway to the VPN server (in our specific case 93.115.92.240/32):sudo ip route del 93.115.92.240/32
3. Add a default route via your local gateway (192.168.0.1 for the IPs we used in this example):sudo ip route add default via 192.168.0.1