Protect Your Cloud Infrastructure: Deploying Pritunl for Secure VPN Access
As businesses shift to the cloud, securing virtual private networks (VPNs) becomes essential for safeguarding internal systems, remote access, and private communications. One robust solution is Pritunl, an open-source VPN server with simple, scalable, and secure enterprise-grade features.
This guide will explain why Pritunl is a powerful choice and how to deploy it to protect your cloud infrastructure.
Why Choose Pritunl?
Pritunl stands out due to its:
User-friendly Interface: Web-based dashboard simplifies configuration and monitoring.
High Availability & Scalability: Supports multiple servers in a distributed setup.
Security-First Approach: Integrates with MongoDB, supports 2FA, and has built-in auditing.
Open Source and Cost-Effective: Offers full-featured functionality at zero cost with optional enterprise enhancements.
Prerequisites
Before deploying Pritunl:
Cloud Platform Account: AWS, GCP, Azure, or any Linux-compatible cloud instance.
Linux Server: Ubuntu 20.04/22.04 or CentOS 7/8 recommended.
Root Access: Necessary for installing services and managing firewalls.
MongoDB: Required for managing configuration data.
Step-by-Step Deployment Guide
Step 1: Set Up Your Cloud Instance
Launch a virtual machine (VM) on your preferred cloud platform.
Open inbound ports: 443, 80, and 22 (for Pritunl, web UI, and SSH).
Step 2: Install MongoDB
sudo apt update
sudo apt install gnupg curl
curl -fsSL https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-6.0.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb.gpg] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu focal/mongodb-org/6.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-6.0.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y mongodb-org
sudo systemctl enable mongod
sudo systemctl start mongod
Step 3: Install Pritunl
echo "deb https://repo.pritunl.com/stable/apt focal main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pritunl.list
sudo apt install gnupg
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 7568D9BB55FF9E5287D586017AE645C0CF8E292A
sudo apt update
sudo apt install pritunl
sudo systemctl enable pritunl
sudo systemctl start pritunl
Step 4: Access the Pritunl Web UI
Visit https://<your-server-ip> to access the web interface. Use the command below to retrieve the default setup credentials:
sudo pritunl setup-key
Use the key and follow the setup wizard to configure your VPN environment.
Configuring VPN Access
Create organizations and users in the web UI.
Download .ovpn configuration files for client devices.
Distribute and monitor sessions securely via the dashboard.
Hardening and Best Practices
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Use SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt.
Regularly update Pritunl and MongoDB.
Implement firewall rules to restrict unnecessary traffic.
Use audit logs for compliance and monitoring.
Scaling and High Availability
Pritunl supports:
Multiple VPN servers under a single organization.
Replica sets using MongoDB for database failover.
Load balancing with HAProxy or Nginx for larger infrastructures.
Conclusion
Deploying Pritunl adds a critical security layer to your cloud infrastructure. With its intuitive design and enterprise-grade features, Pritunl ensures that remote access remains private, reliable, and scalable.
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