Skip to content

VPN

When working from home or outside the PCB, connecting to the VPN is needed in order to have access to resources such as the cluster.

First Things First - Install the FortiClient

  1. Go to https://www.fortinet.com/support/product-downloads#vpn

  2. Download the FortiClient VPN forticlient_web

  3. Install the FortiClient VPN on your system.

    • On Ubuntu/Debian, run:

      sudo apt-get install ./<your-downloaded-forticlient-file>.deb

    • On other operating systems, double-click the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

  4. Once FortiClient is installed, if you are on Ubuntu, run:

    DNS Configuration Warning

    The following commands require administrator privileges and permanently change your system-wide DNS configuration. This will force DNS queries to use the server 10.10.16.4 and the domain sc.irbbarcelona.org even when you are not connected to the VPN. To revert this change later, remove the file and restart systemd-resolved: sudo rm /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/vpn.conf && sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

    sudo su

    mkdir -p /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d && echo -e "[Resolve]\nDNS=10.10.16.4\nDomains=~sc.irbbarcelona.org" >  /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/vpn.conf && systemctl restart systemd-resolved

  5. Download this configuration file to your computer. Keep this configuration file; you will import it into FortiClient in the following steps.

  6. In the FortiClient VPN main window, click the three-bar menu icon (usually in the top-right corner) and select "Add a new connection".

  7. In the "Add a new connection" window, click the "XML" tab, then click the "+ Import XML Configuration" button, and finally click "Save". !!! note "Important" Don't enter your password here. This will be done in the next steps.

  8. Now, back in the initial FortiClient VPN window, you should see "VPN-nexica". Click the three-bar menu icon again and select "Edit the selected connection".

  9. Here, you can optionally click on the option "Save login", and then enter your cluster username and then your password. Click "Save".

    Security Notice

    Only use Save login on your own trusted, non-shared computer. On shared or public machines, or in high-security environments, leave Save login disabled and enter your password manually each time.

  10. Now you are ready. Click connect!

Connecting from the terminal

Description Command
Connect to VPN forticlient vpn connect VPN-nexica
Disconnect from VPN forticlient vpn disconnect VPN-nexica
Check VPN status forticlient vpn status

[!NOTE]
If the VPN remains in a 'Connecting' state after following these steps, try restarting your device. If this does not solve the issue, contact ITN.

References

  • Carlos López-Elorduy