VPN setup

Overview

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) establishes a secure channel between your SenArch ARCH-1 LoRaWAN Gateway and your server. It protects data in transit and enables remote management over public networks.

Prerequisites

  • OpenVPN server.
  • Client certificates generated: ca.crt, client.crt, client.key
  • Gateway shell access

Gateway configuration

  1. Copy required files to the gateway: ca.crt, client.crt, client.key
  2. Edit client.conf with your server details:
remote your.vpnserver.com 1194
proto udp
dev tun
  1. Start the VPN client: openvpn /etc/openvpn/client.conf

Successful connections display "Initialization Sequence Completed" and the gateway receives an IP from the VPN subnet.

Troubleshooting

VPN connection failure

Problem: VPN client cannot connect to the server.

Cause: Network connectivity issues or firewall blocking VPN traffic.

Solution: Verify UDP port 1194 is open and forwarded through your firewall.

No network connectivity after VPN connection

Problem: VPN connects successfully but no network traffic flows.

Cause: Configuration mismatch between server and client settings.

Solution: Ensure both server and client use the same device type (tun) and protocol (udp).

TLS authentication errors

Problem: VPN connection fails with certificate or authentication errors.

Cause: Invalid or mismatched certificate files or server configuration.

Solution: Verify certificate files are correct and the server address matches the certificate Common Name.

Next steps