Setting up L2TP Client

Introduction

In today's interconnected world, ensuring secure and private internet connections is of paramount importance. If you are an Ubuntu user looking to establish an L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) client connection, you've come to the right place. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of setting up an L2TP client on your Ubuntu machine, allowing you to establish a secure VPN connection.

Our guide covers the installation of necessary packages, configuration of the L2TP connection, and the addition of an IP route for up-traffic to a specific IP address range. We'll also provide additional steps for adding the IPSec shared secret, further enhancing the security of your VPN connection.

By the end of this guide, you'll have a fully functional L2TP client on your Ubuntu system, empowering you to browse the internet and access remote resources securely and privately. Let's dive in and get started on this comprehensive journey to set up an L2TP client on Ubuntu.

Step 1: Open a terminal

Launch the terminal application on your Ubuntu machine. You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for "terminal" in the applications menu.

Step 2: Install required packages

Ensure that you have the necessary packages installed by running the following command in the terminal:

This command installs the L2TP network manager plugin and the graphical user interface for configuring L2TP connections.

Step 3: Configure the L2TP connection

1. Open the network settings by clicking on the network icon in the top-right corner of the screen and selecting Network Settings.
2. Click on the + button in the bottom-left corner of the window to add a new connection.
3. Select Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) from the list of connection types and click Create.
4. Enter a name for the connection (e.g., "My L2TP VPN") and fill in the gateway (server) address provided by your VPN service.
5. Under the "Authentication" tab, enter your username and password for the VPN service. (get them from your pnpradius dashboard). Use only the private tunnels
6. configure advanced settings such as IPSec options under the "IPSec Settings" tab if required by your VPN service. Get the shared secret from your pnpradius dashboard.

Step 4: Add an IP route for up-traffic

To ensure that all traffic is routed through the VPN connection, you'll need to add an IP route for up-traffic to a specific IP address range. To do this, follow the steps below:

Create a new file named l2tp-route and add the following lines to it:

Save the file and make it executable by running the following command:

This will ensure that all traffic is routed through the VPN connection. You can also execute the script manually by running the following command:

Step 5: Connect to the VPN

You can now connect to the VPN by clicking on the network icon in the top-right corner of the screen and selecting your VPN connection from the list of available connections.

Step 6: Verify the connection

To verify that the connection was successful, you can check your IP address by running the following command in the terminal: