How to Set Up a Secure Home Office VPN Using WireGuard on Ubuntu

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Introduction

With the increasing need for remote work solutions, setting up a secure VPN has become a necessity for many professionals. In this tutorial, we will walk through the process of setting up a WireGuard VPN on an Ubuntu server. WireGuard is known for its simplicity and faster performance compared to other VPN protocols. This guide will help you establish a secure connection between your home and the office network.

Step 1: Installing WireGuard

First, you need to install WireGuard on your Ubuntu server. Open your terminal and run the following commands: sudo apt update and sudo apt install wireguard. These commands update your package list and install WireGuard, respectively.

Step 2: Configuring WireGuard

Once WireGuard is installed, the next step is to configure it. Begin by generating private and public keys using wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey. Keep these keys secure as they will be used to authenticate your connection.

Create a new configuration file for your WireGuard interface using sudo nano /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf. Replace 'wg0' with whatever you prefer for your interface name. In this file, input the following configuration, replacing placeholders with actual values: 

[Interface]
PrivateKey = <your-private-key>
Address = 10.200.200.1/24
ListenPort = 51820
SaveConfig = true

[Peer]
PublicKey = <peer-public-key>
AllowedIPs = 10.200.200.2/32
Endpoint = <peer-ip-address>:51820
This sets up your server's VPN interface and specifies the client that can connect to it.

Step 3: Enabling the VPN

After configuring WireGuard, enable and start the VPN interface by running sudo wg-quick up wg0. To ensure WireGuard starts on boot, use sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0.

Step 4: Configuring Firewall and Forwarding

For security and functionality, configure the UFW firewall to allow VPN traffic and enable IP forwarding. Run the following commands: sudo ufw allow 51820/udp and echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf followed by sudo sysctl -p.

Step 5: Setting Up a Client

On the client side, install WireGuard using the same installation steps. Generate keys for the client and set up a configuration file similar to the server's, but adjust the [Interface] and [Peer] sections to reflect the client's role. Transfer the client's public key to the server and vice versa.

Conclusion

You now have a secure, high-performance VPN set up with WireGuard on your Ubuntu server. This setup not only enhances your remote work capabilities but also ensures that your data remains secure during transmission between your home and office networks.

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