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To run an IKEv2 VPN server with strongSwan, deploy the daemon on a Linux host with a stable, publicly reachable DNS name; create a trusted CA and gateway certificate; define the connection in swanctl.conf; configure client authentication, address pools, routing, DNS, forwarding and firewall/NAT; then load the configuration with swanctl and test an IKE_SA and CHILD_SA from each client platform.
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This guide uses strongSwan’s current VICI and swanctl workflow. The older stroke interface and ipsec.conf path are deprecated and may not be built by default.
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What you need before installing strongSwan
Prepare the network and identity details first. IKEv2 negotiation can be perfectly configured while clients still fail because the hostname, UDP ports, forwarding policy or certificate name is wrong.
- A Linux server with a stable public IPv4 address, and IPv6 if you intend to offer IPv6 VPN addresses.
- A DNS name such as
vpn.example.comthat resolves to the gateway. Clients must enter this exact name. - Inbound and outbound UDP 500 and UDP 4500. UDP 4500 is used when NAT traversal is required.
- Administrative access to install packages, create keys and change firewall rules.
- An address range reserved for VPN clients, for example
10.20.0.0/24, that does not overlap with networks clients commonly use. - A decision about whether traffic is full tunnel (all Internet traffic through the VPN) or split tunnel (only selected internal networks).
- A decision about authentication: a shared username/password system, client certificates, or an external RADIUS service.
Use the package names and service-management commands supplied by your Linux distribution. Plugin names and package splits differ between distributions, so verify that the EAP, certificate, VICI and kernel-crypto components required by your design are installed.
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Choose authentication and traffic policy
Password-based EAP
EAP-MSCHAPv2 is usually the simplest option for a mixed fleet. Users authenticate with credentials stored locally or supplied by an authentication backend. It avoids issuing a certificate to every user, but password protection, rotation and account disablement become operational responsibilities. Never send credentials over an unencrypted management channel, and use strong, unique passwords.
EAP-TLS with client certificates
EAP-TLS authenticates clients with certificates signed by your CA. It provides strong machine or user identity and works well when you already operate certificate enrollment and revocation. The trade-off is lifecycle work: each device needs a private key, a certificate, renewal handling and a way to revoke lost devices.
RADIUS-backed EAP
strongSwan can delegate EAP authentication to RADIUS through its eap-radius plugin. This centralizes usernames, policy and accounting, but adds a dependency on the RADIUS server and its network availability.
Full tunnel or split tunnel
| Policy | Child traffic selectors | Use it when | Operational consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full tunnel | 0.0.0.0/0, ::/0 |
All IPv4 and IPv6 traffic must traverse the VPN. | Enable forwarding and NAT or routing to the Internet, and provide reachable DNS resolvers. |
| Split tunnel | Specific networks such as 10.30.0.0/16 |
Only private applications should use the VPN. | Remote access is narrower; Internet traffic continues through the client’s normal connection. |
IPv4 and IPv6 selectors are independent. If you advertise an IPv6 selector, provide an IPv6 pool and forwarding path; otherwise omit IPv6 from both the pool and selectors.
Install the modern strongSwan components
- Update the Linux host and install strongSwan, the
swanctlutility, the VICI plugin and the cryptographic utilities used to create certificates. Install the EAP plugin matching your choice, such as EAP-MSCHAPv2, EAP-TLS or RADIUS. - Confirm that the daemon starts with the distribution’s service manager and that the VICI socket is enabled.
swanctlcommunicates with the daemon over VICI; it does not depend on the deprecated stroke interface. - Locate the swanctl configuration directory. A typical layout is
/etc/swanctl/with subdirectories such asx509/,x509ca/,private/andconf.d/. Use the paths shown by your distribution if they differ. - Restrict private-key permissions so only root and the account that runs the VPN service can read them.
Do not mix an old ipsec.conf deployment with a new swanctl.conf deployment unless you understand which daemon instance and plugins are loading each configuration. Keeping one control path makes troubleshooting substantially easier.
Create the CA and gateway certificate
Clients validate the gateway certificate against a trusted CA. The gateway certificate must contain the serverAuth extended-key-usage value. Its subjectAltName must contain the exact DNS name, or exact IP address, that users enter in the VPN server field. A common name alone is not a substitute for the SAN.
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Generate a private CA
The strongSwan pki utility can create a small private PKI. Run these commands in a protected working directory, then copy only the public CA certificate to clients.
pki --gen --type rsa --size 4096 --outform pem > ca-key.pem
pki --self --ca --lifetime 3650 --in ca-key.pem
--dn "CN=Example VPN Root CA" --outform pem > ca-cert.pemThe CA private key signs gateway and, when using EAP-TLS, client certificates. Keep it offline or otherwise tightly protected after issuing the certificates you need.
Issue the gateway certificate
pki --gen --type rsa --size 4096 --outform pem > server-key.pem
pki --pub --in server-key.pem --type rsa |
pki --issue --cacert ca-cert.pem --cakey ca-key.pem
--dn "CN=vpn.example.com"
--san vpn.example.com --flag serverAuth
--lifetime 1825 --outform pem > server-cert.pemReplace vpn.example.com everywhere with the real name. If clients connect by a public IP address, place that IP in the SAN and use that same IP in the client profile. If you use both a name and an address, include both SAN values and ensure both are controlled by you.
Issue client certificates for EAP-TLS
Generate a separate private key and certificate for every device or user. Sign each certificate with the CA, include the client-authentication usage required by your client software, and distribute the certificate together with its private key through a protected enrollment process. Import the CA certificate into clients as a trust anchor; do not distribute the CA private key.
Install certificate material
Place the CA certificate in the swanctl CA directory, the gateway certificate in the X.509 directory and the gateway private key in the private-key directory. Use the filenames you reference in swanctl.conf. Check that the certificate chain, key type and validity dates are correct before attempting a connection.
Write swanctl.conf
The configuration has four important parts: the local gateway identity and authentication, the remote authentication method, one or more CHILD_SA definitions, and virtual-IP pools. The following is a password-EAP full-tunnel template. It is intentionally a template: replace names, pools, DNS addresses and proposals with values appropriate for your network and distribution.
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connections {
ikev2-vpn {
version = 2
pools = vpn_ipv4, vpn_ipv6
local {
auth = pubkey
certs = server-cert.pem
id = vpn.example.com
}
remote {
auth = eap-mschapv2
eap_id = %any
}
children {
vpn {
local_ts = 0.0.0.0/0, ::/0
esp_proposals = aes256-sha256
dpd_action = clear
}
}
}
}
pools {
vpn_ipv4 {
addrs = 10.20.0.0/24
}
vpn_ipv6 {
addrs = 2001:db8:20::/64
}
}
secrets {
eap-user {
id = alice
password = replace-with-a-long-secret
}
}Understand the connection block
version = 2restricts the connection to IKEv2.local.auth = pubkeymakes the gateway prove possession of its private key.certsnames the gateway certificate andidmust match an identity represented in that certificate, normally the DNS SAN.remote.auth = eap-mschapv2selects password EAP. For certificate-authenticated clients, use the certificate-authentication method documented for your client and install the CA in the connection’s trust configuration.eap_id = %anyallows the username supplied by the client to identify the account. Replace this with a constrained identity when your policy requires one.children.vpn.local_tsdefines what traffic the CHILD_SA carries. Replace the default routes with internal subnets for split tunneling.poolsassigns virtual addresses to connected clients. Ensure these ranges do not overlap with the client’s local LANs.
Add internal DNS
Configure DNS delivery in the child connection using the DNS option supported by your installed strongSwan version and client combination. Use resolvers that can answer the private names clients need. A full-tunnel profile without usable DNS often appears to be broken even when the tunnel is established.
Use a certificate-authenticated remote
For EAP-TLS, configure the remote side to authenticate with a client certificate and point the connection at the CA certificate that issued those clients. Keep the gateway’s local public-key authentication: IKEv2 then authenticates the gateway and the client independently. Confirm that the client certificate’s identity and usage match the policy you configure.
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strongSwan negotiates security associations; it does not automatically make the Linux host a router. Enable IPv4 forwarding and, when using an IPv6 pool, IPv6 forwarding. Persist the settings using your distribution’s documented sysctl mechanism.
Permit established IKE traffic on UDP 500 and 4500, allow ESP where your network requires native ESP, and permit forwarding between the VPN pool and each intended destination. For full-tunnel IPv4 access, add source NAT (masquerading) from the VPN pool to the Internet-facing interface unless your upstream router has a route back to the pool. For split tunnel, route the private subnet back to the VPN pool instead of masquerading when preserving client addresses matters.
Firewall syntax varies by nftables, iptables, cloud security groups and hosting providers, so implement the policy in the tool already used on your host. The required logic is:
- Allow inbound UDP 500 and 4500 to the gateway.
- Allow forwarding from the VPN virtual-address pools to permitted networks.
- Allow return traffic for established connections.
- Apply NAT only where the upstream network lacks a route to the virtual pool.
- Allow DNS traffic from VPN clients to the resolvers you advertise.
Check cloud-level firewalls as well as the operating-system firewall. A local allow rule cannot overcome a provider security group that drops UDP 4500.
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Load and validate the configuration
- Check that every referenced certificate, private key, CA and plugin exists in the expected swanctl directories.
- Load credentials and connection definitions with
swanctl, for exampleswanctl --load-credsfollowed byswanctl --load-conns, or useswanctl --load-allwhere supported. - List loaded connections and credentials with the corresponding
swanctl --list-connsandswanctl --list-certscommands. - Watch the strongSwan service log while initiating a client connection. Look for certificate-chain errors, identity mismatches, proposal mismatches, authentication failures and CHILD_SA traffic-selector errors.
- After connecting, verify that an IKE_SA and a CHILD_SA are established, that the client received an address from the intended pool, and that the assigned routes and DNS settings match your policy.
Reloading a changed connection is safer than restarting the host, but make sure the new definition was actually loaded. A syntactically valid file that was not loaded leaves the daemon running the previous policy.
Connect supported clients
Windows 7 and later
Windows includes IKEv2 and MOBIKE through its Agile VPN implementation. Create an IKEv2 VPN profile, enter the gateway DNS name exactly as it appears in the certificate SAN, select the authentication method configured on the server, and install the CA certificate in the appropriate trusted root store. For EAP-TLS, import the client certificate and private key into the user’s or computer’s certificate store according to whether the connection is per-user or per-device.
If Windows reports that the remote computer could not be authenticated, first compare the profile’s server name character-for-character with the SAN. If authentication succeeds but no traffic passes, inspect the CHILD_SA selectors, routes, forwarding and NAT rather than generating a new certificate.
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In Settings, open General, then VPN & Device Management, choose VPN, and add an IKEv2 configuration. Enter the gateway name exactly as issued, select the server certificate trust chain and configure EAP-MSCHAPv2 or EAP-TLS to match the server. Apple requires the server name to match the certificate SAN; a merely similar hostname is rejected.
macOS
Open System Settings, choose VPN, add an IKEv2 service, and enter the same server name and remote identifier used by the gateway certificate. Configure user authentication as EAP credentials or a client identity, then trust the issuing CA. Test both private resources and, for a full tunnel, an external address to confirm that routing and DNS behave as intended.
Android
The strongSwan Android client can use the documented gateway configuration and supports certificate and EAP-based profiles. Import the CA certificate, create an IKEv2 profile using the exact gateway name, then select the matching EAP or client-certificate method. Android distributions and built-in VPN screens vary, so use the client application’s profile fields when the system UI does not expose the required IKEv2 options.
NetworkManager on Linux
The NetworkManager strongSwan plugin can consume the same gateway identity, CA trust and EAP or certificate settings. Create an IKEv2 connection, set the server address to the certificate SAN, select the authentication mode, and configure routes as full tunnel or split tunnel. Ensure the plugin version supports the authentication method enabled on the server.
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No IKE negotiation appears in the logs
Check DNS resolution from the client, the gateway’s public address, UDP 500 and 4500 at every firewall layer, and whether the server is behind another NAT device. Confirm that the daemon is listening and that the client is not using a different VPN protocol.
Certificate or identity errors
Verify the certificate validity period, issuing CA, key pair and SAN. The client-entered server name, the gateway id and the certificate SAN must describe the same identity. Import the correct CA certificate on the client; importing only the gateway certificate does not establish a trust chain unless the client explicitly trusts it.
Authentication fails after IKE starts
Confirm that the required EAP plugin is installed and loaded, the configured username exists, the password is correct, and the server’s remote-auth method matches the client. For EAP-TLS, check client certificate usage, chain, expiration and private-key availability.
The tunnel is up but applications cannot connect
Inspect the CHILD_SA selectors and the address assigned from the pool. Then check forwarding, return routes, NAT, firewall rules and DNS. A full-tunnel selector requires a working path for Internet traffic; a split-tunnel selector must include every private subnet the application uses.
Only some networks work
Look for overlapping client LAN and VPN-pool ranges, missing IPv6 rules, or a remote subnet omitted from local_ts. Add explicit routes or selectors rather than broadening access indiscriminately.
Operate the server safely
- Keep the CA private key offline and protect gateway and client private keys with restrictive permissions.
- Track certificate expiration and renew before the gateway certificate or client certificates expire.
- Revoke or remove credentials for lost devices and departed users.
- Patch the Linux host and strongSwan packages, and verify that required plugins remain available after upgrades.
- Monitor IKE_SA and CHILD_SA counts, authentication failures, pool exhaustion and repeated UDP probes.
- Document the VPN pools, DNS resolvers, routed subnets, firewall policy and the exact authentication method so another administrator can recover the service.
- Use the narrowest traffic selectors and firewall destinations that satisfy the business requirement.
What a successful deployment looks like
A working deployment has a publicly resolvable gateway name, a certificate whose SAN exactly matches that name, a loaded swanctl connection, successful remote authentication, a CHILD_SA with the intended selectors, an address from the correct pool, and forwarding, DNS and firewall rules that permit the traffic you chose. Test each client platform separately because their certificate stores, EAP prompts, route handling and MOBIKE behavior differ.
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