--- /dev/null
+# Creating a new VPN
+
+If you are just starting to create a VPN, first consider what IP addresses you
+want to use on the VPN. There are several blocks of IP addresses reserved for
+[private networks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network):
+
+- 192.168.0.0/16
+- 172.16.0.0/12
+- 10.0.0.0/8
+- fd00::/8
+
+Make sure the [IP range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classless_Inter-Domain_Routing)
+you are choosing is large enough for all the nodes you want to add to the VPN,
+and also consider that some of these private address ranges might also be used
+on local area networks, so check in advance that you won't conflict with any
+range that is already in use by any of the participants. When in doubt, just
+pick one and try it out. For this quickstart guide, we will use 172.16.0.0/16
+as the range of the VPN.
+
+Also think of a name for your whole VPN. This will be used as the "netname"
+parameter for tinc, and on Linux this will then also automatically be used as
+the name for the virtual network interface. We will use "myvpn" as the name in
+the examples below.
+
+# Create your first node
+
+Think of a name for your first node. We will call it "first" in the examples
+below. The name must be unique for each node in the same VPN, and may only
+contain letters, numbers and underscores. Apart from that you can choose
+whatever you want. Now we can create the first node:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn init first
+```
+
+This creates the initial configuration for the node, but has not started tinc
+yet. Before we do that, two things have to be done first. We have to tell tinc
+which part of the IP range of the VPN belongs to *this* particular node. We
+will use 172.168.1.0/24 for this example. We then have to give this command:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn add Subnet 172.168.1.0/24
+```
+
+However, tinc itself will not actually configure the virtual network interface
+for you. You have to create a script named `tinc-up` that does this. To do
+this, run the command:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn edit tinc-up
+```
+
+This should start an editor. When you ran the `init` command, a dummy script
+was already created. Edit it to make sure it looks like this:
+
+```
+#!/bin/sh
+ifconfig $INTERFACE 172.168.1.1/16
+```
+
+Note that the literal text `$INTERFACE` should be in the script, tinc will make
+sure that environment variable is set correctly when the script is run. The
+address should be that of the node itself, but the netmask or prefix length
+(the `/16` in this case) you provide must be that of the *whole* VPN. This
+tells the kernel that everything for the VPN's IP range should go to tinc's
+virtual network interface, from then on tinc will handle it and route it to the
+right node based on the `Subnet`s that you configured.
+
+To start tinc run:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn start
+```
+
+This will start running tinc in the background. You can also run it in the
+foreground with debugging enabled using this command:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn start -d5 -D
+```
+
+This might be helpful in the beginning to debug any issues you have setting up
+the VPN.
+
+# Create your second node
+
+There are two ways to add new nodes to the VPN.
+
+## Using import/export of host config files
+
+One way to do it is to create a second node just like you created the first
+node. Just make sure it has a different name (let's call it "second"), and that
+it gets a different IP range for itself (let's use 172.168.2.0/24). So on the second node run:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn init second
+sudo tinc -n myvpn add Subnet 172.168.2.0/24
+sudo tinc -n myvpn edit tinc-up
+```
+
+And make sure the second node's tinc up contains:
+
+```
+#!/bin/sh
+ifconfig $INTERFACE 172.168.2.1/16
+```
+
+And `start` the second node. After you have done that, you have to make sure
+that the two nodes can find each other. To do this, at least one node should
+have a public IP address. Let's assume the first node has public IP address
+93.184.216.34. You would then give this command on the first node:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn add Address 93.184.216.34
+```
+
+Note that if you have a public domain name, you can also use that domain name
+instead of a numeric IP address. Now run the following on the first node:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn export
+```
+
+This outputs a small amount of text that contains the node's public keys and
+the public address. On the second node, run this:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn import
+```
+
+And copy&paste the output from the first node, then press ctrl-D on a new line.
+If done correctly it should tell you that it has imported the host
+configuration file. Now you have to do the same but in the other direction: use
+the `export` command on the second node, and then use `import` on the first
+node. Now that both nodes know each other, they should be able to connect. This
+should happen automatically after a while.
+
+Note that instead of copy&pasting the text manually, you could also redirect it
+to a text file, send it via email, pipe it through an SSH connection, or use
+any other way to exchange the host config files. For more information, see the
+[manual](https://www.tinc-vpn.org/documentation-1.1/How-to-configure.html).
+
+## Using invitations
+
+Another way to add more nodes is to have an existing node generate an
+[invitation](https://www.tinc-vpn.org/documentation-1.1/Invitations.html)
+for another node. A prerequisite is that the node generating the invitation
+should have a public IP address to the invitee will be able to connect to it.
+Again, let's assume the first node has public IP address 93.184.216.34:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn add Address 93.184.216.34
+```
+
+Then on the first node, generate in invitation for the second node:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn invite second
+```
+
+This should generate one line of text that looks like an URL, like for example:
+
+```
+93.184.216.34:655/R4BU9VMzdY4S_EIuAhW1-B0XV50HqooyEv6EUfl4k6Z9_zrq
+```
+
+On the second node, don't using `init` to create the initial configuration.
+Instead, run the following command:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn join 93.184.216.34:655/R4BU9VMzdY4S_EIuAhW1-B0XV50HqooyEv6EUfl4k6Z9_zrq
+```
+
+It will then initialize itself and make a connection to the first node and
+exchange configuration files automatically. You still have to add the `Subnet`
+and edit `tinc-up` afterwards on the second node (as described in the section
+above), and use the `start` command to start tinc.
+
+Invitations are easier to use, and relatively secure. Once used, the invitation
+is no longer valid. However, be aware that anyone holding an unused invitation
+can use it to join a VPN, so make sure you do not make invitation URLs public.
+
+# Checking that things are working
+
+After you have set up two nodes, you should be able to ping `172.16.1.1`. If it
+doesn't work, there can be multiple reasons. Make sure you don't have any
+firewall rules blocking tinc's port, and that at least one node has a public IP
+address that is accepting incoming connections. You can further investigate by
+asking tinc the status of a given node. So for example, on the first node, you
+can run:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn info second
+```
+
+You can also dump a list of connections:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn dump connections
+```
+
+Or `dump nodes` to get a list of known nodes, `dump subnets` to see all
+subnets. If you ran tinc in the background, you can get still get log output
+like so:
+
+```
+sudo tinc -n myvpn log 5
+```
+
+Finally, if the problem is not with tinc, using `tcpdump` to look at the
+traffic on your real and virtual interfaces might help determine what the
+problem is.
-# tinc
+# About tinc
-This is the README file for tinc version 1.1pre18. Installation instructions may be found in the [INSTALL](INSTALL.md) file.
-
-## Copyright
-
-tinc is Copyright © 1998-2021 Ivo Timmermans, Guus Sliepen <guus@tinc-vpn.org>, and others.
-
-For a complete list of authors see the AUTHORS file.
-
-This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
-your option) any later version. See the file COPYING for more details.
-
-## Nightly builds
-
-You can download pre-built binary packages for multiple Linux distributions and Windows here:
-
-- [development version](https://github.com/gsliepen/tinc/releases/tag/latest)
-- [latest release](https://github.com/gsliepen/tinc/releases/latest)
+Tinc is a peer-to-peer VPN daemon that supports VPNs with an arbitrary number
+of nodes. Instead of configuring tunnels, you give tinc the location and
+public key of a few nodes in the VPN. After making the initial connections to
+those nodes, tinc will learn about all other nodes on the VPN, and will make
+connections automatically. When direct connections are not possible, data will
+be forwarded by intermediate nodes.
-Note that these packages have not been heavily tested and are not officialy supported by the project. Use them at your own risk. You are advised to use tinc shipped by your distribution, or build from source.
+Tinc can operate in several routing modes. In the default mode, "router", every
+node is associated with one or more IPv4 and/or IPv6 Subnets. The other two
+modes, "switch" and "hub", let the tinc daemons work together to form a virtual
+Ethernet network switch or hub.
## This is a pre-release
functionality of the tinc program may still change, and the control socket
protocol is not fixed yet.
-## Security statement
-
-This version uses an experimental and unfinished cryptographic protocol. Use it
-at your own risk.
+# Documentation
-When connecting to nodes that use the legacy protocol used in tinc 1.0, be
-aware that any security issues in tinc 1.0 will apply to tinc 1.1 as well. On
-September 6th, 2018, Michael Yonly contacted us and provided proof-of-concept
-code that allowed a remote attacker to create an authenticated, one-way
-connection with a node using the legacy protocol, and also that there was a
-possibility for a man-in-the-middle to force UDP packets from a node to be sent
-in plaintext. The first issue was trivial to exploit on tinc versions prior to
-1.0.30, but the changes in 1.0.30 to mitigate the Sweet32 attack made this
-weakness much harder to exploit. These issues have been fixed in tinc 1.0.35
-and tinc 1.1pre17. The new protocol in the tinc 1.1 branch is not susceptible
-to these issues. However, be aware that SPTPS is only used between nodes
-running tinc 1.1pre\* or later, and in a VPN with nodes running different
-versions, the security might only be as good as that of the oldest version.
+See [QUICKSTART.md](QUICKSTART.md) for a quick guide to get tinc up and
+running. Read the [manual](https://www.tinc-vpn.org/documentation-1.1/) for
+more detailed information.
-## Compatibility
+# Getting tinc
-Version 1.1pre18 is compatible with 1.0pre8, 1.0 and later, but not with older
-versions of tinc.
+## From your distribution
-When the ExperimentalProtocol option is used, tinc is still compatible with
-1.0.X, 1.1pre11 and later, but not with any version between 1.1pre1 and
-1.1pre10.
+Many operating system distributions have packaged tinc. Check your package
+manager first.
-## Requirements
-
-In order to compile tinc, you will need a GNU C compiler environment. Please
-ensure you have the latest stable versions of all the required libraries:
-
-- LibreSSL (http://www.libressl.org/) or OpenSSL (https://openssl.org/) version 1.1.0 or later.
+## Nightly builds
-The following libraries are used by default, but can be disabled if necessary:
+You can download pre-built binary packages for multiple Linux distributions and
+Windows here:
-- zlib (https://zlib.net/)
-- LZO (https://www.oberhumer.com/opensource/lzo/)
-- ncurses (https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/)
-- readline (https://cnswww.cns.cwru.edu/php/chet/readline/rltop.html)
+- [development version](https://github.com/gsliepen/tinc/releases/tag/latest)
+- [latest release](https://github.com/gsliepen/tinc/releases/latest)
-## Features
+Note that these packages have not been heavily tested and are not officially
+supported by the project. Use them at your own risk. You are advised to use
+tinc shipped by your distribution, or build from source.
-Tinc is a peer-to-peer VPN daemon that supports VPNs with an arbitrary number
-of nodes. Instead of configuring tunnels, you give tinc the location and
-public key of a few nodes in the VPN. After making the initial connections to
-those nodes, tinc will learn about all other nodes on the VPN, and will make
-connections automatically. When direct connections are not possible, data will
-be forwarded by intermediate nodes.
+## Build it from source
-Tinc 1.1 support two protocols. The first is a legacy protocol that provides
-backwards compatibility with tinc 1.0 nodes, and which by default uses 2048 bit
-RSA keys for authentication, and encrypts traffic using AES256 in CBC mode
-and HMAC-SHA256. The second is a new protocol which uses Curve25519 keys for
-authentication, and encrypts traffic using Chacha20-Poly1305, and provides
-forward secrecy.
+See the file [INSTALL.md](INSTALL.md) for instructions of how to build and
+install tinc from source.
-Tinc fully supports IPv6.
+# Copyright
-Tinc can operate in several routing modes. In the default mode, "router", every
-node is associated with one or more IPv4 and/or IPv6 Subnets. The other two
-modes, "switch" and "hub", let the tinc daemons work together to form a virtual
-Ethernet network switch or hub.
+tinc is Copyright © 1998-2022 Ivo Timmermans, Guus Sliepen <guus@tinc-vpn.org>, and others.
-Normally, when started tinc will detach and run in the background. In a native
-Windows environment this means tinc will install itself as a service, which will
-restart after reboots. To prevent tinc from detaching or running as a service,
-use the -D option.
+For a complete list of authors see the [AUTHORS](AUTHORS) file.
-The status of the VPN can be queried using the "tinc" command, which connects
-to a running tinc daemon via a control connection. The same tool also makes it
-easy to start and stop tinc, and to change its configuration.
+This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
+your option) any later version. See the file COPYING for more details.
projects / tinc / commitdiff