Simple steps to setup OpenVPN access to a Synology NAS

I’ve had serious problems today to set up an OpenVPN connection in a SYNOLOGY NAS. There are many tutorials, but none of them include the part I’m marking in bold below. I have a setup with two routers in the way and did a lot of work trying different configurations on them, it was pointless, the problem wasn’t there.

Brief notes:

Checks:

• Unless you have a domain and fixed IP address for your NAS, set up a Dynamic DNS account (at no-ip.com or any other DDNS provider). For instance, setup yournick.ddns.net
• Make sure your NAS has a fixed local IP, in your LAN IP address range (i.e 192.168.1.100)

1. In the NAS, go to the control panel, External Acces, and a) in the “DDNS “tab, configure your DDNS account b)in the “Router Configuration” tab, click on create a custom port rule, TCP, both fields 1194. Save rule and click “Apply” at the bottom right corner.
2. Install VPN Server application in your NAS, open it, go to OpenVPN tab, enable OpenVPN, change protocol from UPD to TCP. Note down the Dynamic IP address on top (i.e. 10.8.0.1) and scroll down to click on “Export Configuration button” to download connection file. Go to PPTP and L2TP tabs, and disable. In the Privilege tab, make sure your user has access to OpenVPN, make other users, if any, unable to use it if you want. Also disable access to PPTP and L2TP to yourself.
3. Make sure you redirect port 1194 in your ISP router to the LAN IP address (that 192.168.1.100) to your NAS, or you have the NAS as default port forward.
4. Extract the .ovpn file from the configuration, edit it, and in the very first lines you will find a line with YOUR_SERVER_IP 1194, change that “YOUR_SERVER_IP” to the DDNs name you got (i.e. yournick.ddns.net)
5. Install OpenVPN Client app, and manage to send the .ovpn file to the client device. I don’t recommend using e-mail, but it’s a way to do it. Other is using Telegram.
6. Open it on OpenVPN client, choose ADD, enter username (your NAS username), check “Save Password”, enter password (your NAS password), and go ahead.

If the connection started, congratulations, you’re done. Otherwise have a look above an check you didn’t forget anything.

To access your DSM with the VPN connection browse to the “Dynamic IP address” you noted down before, i.e:

https://10.8.0.1:5001

To access Home Assistant, if you have it already set up:

https://10.8.0.1:8123