UVA Anywhere VPN on Linux
ITS does not support the UVA Anywhere VPN client on Linux. These instructions may work but they are provided for user information only. UVA RC does not support usage of the VPN on any platform.
Setting up the VPN
-
Install Software Prerequisites
You must install some software using
yum
,dnf
, orapt-get
. Note the slight difference in naming convention between distributions.-
Centos/RedHat/Fedora
These distributions need the following packages:
- openssl
- openconnect
- NetworkManager-openconnect
- NetworkManager-openconnect-gnome
-
Ubuntu
The packages are the same but the names are different. Ubuntu 18.04 and up requires an additional package.
- openssl
- openconnect
- network-manager-openconnect
- network-manager-gnome
- network-manager-openconnect-gnome
It will be necessary for Network Manager to be able to manage the connection.
-
-
Obtain a Certificate
Go to this unpublicized Web location to obtain a certificate for an unknown device. Fill out the form.
Your passphrase need not be related to your Netbadge password, and it must be 15 characters or fewer. The MAC address of your system is optional for UVA Anywhere. You will receive a file ending in
.p12
. In this example we will assume it is namedmst3k.p12
.Download the Usher certificate. This is the CA (Certificate Authority) certificate.
-
Extract Key and Certificate
NetWork Manager may not recognize the
.p12
format. Extract the key and certificate with the following commands:
openssl pkcs12 -in mst3k.p12 -nocerts -nodes -out mst3k.key
openssl pkcs12 -in mst3k.p12 -clcerts -nokeys -out mst3k.crt
-
Convert the CA certificate
The
.cer
certificate is a Microsoft version of an “X509” certificate. NetworkManager may not recognize this, but you can convert it to the standard format with
openssl x509 -inform DER -in usher.cer -out usher.crt
This will not remove your original `usher.cer`.
-
Configure with Network Manager
Click the network app in your tray, or go to Settings->Network. Choose VPN and click the + to add a VPN.
Select the Cisco Anyconnect compatible VPN option.
Fill in the blanks for a new VPN.
Off-Grounds Rivanna users should use the ITS more-secure network. The gateway for that VPN is moresecure-vpn-1.itc.virginia.edu. The UVA-Anywhere gateway can be used by students for other purposes.
Click “Add.”
In the Details tab, make sure that “Make available to all users” is not checked. This should be the default.
Connecting to the VPN
Start the VPN through the Network Manager, either through the applet in the tray (Ubuntu) or in the Notifications section of the taskbar (Centos/Fedora). The state can be controlled through the right arrow.