Set Up an OpenVPN Server Instantly with DigitalOcean Droplet User Data

OpenVPN is a full-featured open source Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN solution that accommodates a wide range of configurations. In this tutorial, we’ll set up an OpenVPN server on a Droplet and then configure access to it from Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. This tutorial will keep the installation and configuration steps as simple as possible for these setups.

Note: OpenVPN can be installed automatically on your Droplet by adding this script to its User Data when launching it. Check out this tutorial to learn more about Droplet User Data.

Setup VPS instance

First thing first, you need to create a Digitalocean account by clicking this link. Complete the registration by providing your payment method, either with credit card or Paypal account.

After you see the green button “Create Droplet”, click on it to proceed to the next step. Type in your preferred Droplet hostname, whatever you want. Then select size of droplet, in this case you’ll choose the pricing which fit you. In my case, I choose the lowest one, $5 /month droplet with 20GB storage and 512MB RAM. It’s kind of enough for me.

Then select the region you want the droplet located. This time, you may want to choose the nearest region from your country. Then select Image, it is the operating system for your VPS. Choose the Ubuntu 14.04 x64.

And finally, tick the “User Data” in the Available Settings section. When the text input appears, enter the script for creating the VPN server. Get the script by referring to the link at the bottom of this post. Find the “Note” section like above quotation. There you’ll find the link to the script. Just copy and paste it.

DigitalOcean User data. This is just illustration, and that’s not the script you want.

And in the last section, you may skip that “Add SSH Keys”. Then you will receive the password required to login to the VPS in your email inbox. Check it later.

via How To Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu 14.04 | DigitalOcean.