How to Install SoftEther VPN Server on Windows Server 2019
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is used to create a private network when using public networks. It encrypts your internet traffic and hides your online identity. It creates an encrypted tunnel for your data and allows you to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely. There is a lot of free and commercial VPN software available in the market, in this guide we explain how to install SoftEther VPN Server on Windows Server 2019.
SoftEther VPN is free open source, cross platform, multi-protocol VPN server and client software. It can run on several operating systems including Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD and Solaris. It is compatible with other VPN products including, OpenVPN, L2TP, IPsec, EtherIP, L2TPv3, Cisco VPN Routers and MS-SSTP VPN Clients. It allows you to create one or many Virtual Network Adapters on your client’s computer. It also supports additional VPN protocols, including L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN, Microsoft SSTP, L2TPv3 and EtherIP.
In this post, we will show you how to install SoftEther VPN server and client on Windows server 2019.
Install SoftEther VPN Server
First, visit the SoftEther download page, select software, component, Windows platform and CPU then download the SoftEther VPN server as shown below:
Once the download is completed, follow the below steps to install the SoftEther VPN server:
1. Double click on the downloaded exe file to start the installation. You should see the SoftEther welcome screen:
2. Click on the Next button. You should see the Software Component selection screen:
3. Select SoftEther VPN Server and click on the Next button. You should see the SoftEther license screen:
4. Agree to the license agreement and click on the Next button. You should see the important notice screen:
5. Read the notice and click on the Next button. You should see the installation directory selection screen:
6. Select your installation directory and click on the Next button. You should see the ready to install screen:
7. Click on the Next button to start the installation. Once the installation has been completed, you should see the following screen:
8. Click on the Finish button to close the installation wizard and start the SoftEther VPN Server Manager as shown below:
9. Click on the New Setting button to create a new VPN connection as shown below:
10. Provide your VPN connection name, Hostname or IP address, Port, Select Server Admin Mode and click on the OK button. You should see your new VPN connection on the following screen:
11. Select your newly created connection and click on the Connect button. You will be redirected to the change the administrator password screen:
12. Define your new administrator password and click on the OK button. You should see the following screen:
13. Select Remote Access VPN Server and click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:
14. Define your hub name and click on the OK button. You should see the following screen:
15. Define the DNS Hostname and click on the Exit button. You should see the following screen:
16. Select “Enable L2TP Server Function (L2TP over IPsec)“, provide preshared key name and click on the OK button. You should see the following screen:
17. Select “Disable VPN Azure” and click on the OK button. You should see the VPN user creation screen:
18. Click on Create Users. You should see the following screen:
19. Provide your VPN username, password and click on the OK button. You should see the following screen:
20. Click on the Exit button. You should see the VPN server overview screen:
21. Click on the Manage Virtual Hub. You should see the following screen:
22. Click on the “Virtual NAT and Virtual DHCP Server (SecureNAT)“. You should see the following screen:
23. Click on the Enable SecureNAT and click on the Exit button to close the VPN server wizard.
At this point, your SoftEther VPN server is installed and configured. Now, you will need to install the SoftEther VPN client on the client machine and connect to the VPN server.
Install and Configure SoftEther VPN Client
First, visit the SoftEther VPN download page, select software, component, platform, cpu then download the SoftEther VPN client as shown below:
Once the download is completed, follow the below steps to install the SoftEther VPN client and connect it to the VPN server.
1. Double click on the SoftEther VPN client exe file to start the installation. You should see the SoftEther VPN client installation wizard:
2. Click on the Next button. You should see the following screen:
3. Select the SoftEther VPN Client and click on the Next button. You should see the License agreement screen:
4. Agree to the License agreement and click on the Next button. You should see the installation directory selection screen:
5. Select your installation directory and click on the Next button. You should see the ready to start screen:
6. Click on the Next button to start the installation. Once the installation has been finished, you should see the following screen:
7. Select “Start the SoftEther VPN Client Manager” and click on the Finish button. You will be redirected to the VPN client configuration screen:
8. Click on the Add VPN Connection. You will be asked to create a virtual network adapter:
9. Click on the Yes button to create a new virtual network adapter. You should see the following screen:
10. Provide your virtual network adapter name and click on the OK button. You should see your newly created virtual adapter on the following screen:
11. Now, click again on Add VPN Connection. You should see the following screen:
12. Provide your connection name, VPN server IP, username, password and click on the OK button. You should see your new VPN client connection in the following screen:
13. Now, double click on your VPN client connection to connect to the VPN server. Once the connection is established successfully, you should see the following screen:
Now, open your web browser and access https://whatismyipaddress.com. You should see the IP address of your VPN server:
This confirms that you are surfing the web using your VPN server.
SoftEther VPN Installation Complete
In the above guide, we explained how to set up a SoftEther VPN server on Windows server 2019. We also explained how to install the SoftEther VPN client and connect to the VPN server. I hope this guide will help you to implement a SoftEther VPN server in your organization.
