---
description: >-
  OpenVPN is a secure and flexible VPN solution for incidental remote access and
  device configuration.
---

# Open VPN

Connecting to the Simbase OpenVPN server allows remote access to the private static IP address of your SIM card. Use an OpenVPN client on the desktop or install OpenVPN on any server for secure two-way communication with all IoT devices.

## Overview

All our SIM cards reside behind a firewall and NAT gateway which ensure that your SIM card is protected against attacks from users on the internet. As you can see in the sketch below, all outbound data sessions to resources on the internet are allowed.

But this setup has its limitations. Resources on the internet (for example your PC) cannot penetrate through the firewall, and cannot reach the SIM card.&#x20;

<img src="https://2653492456-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FYV3zfJTXLR73Umqnex88%2Fuploads%2FHQ7rVn66cL8vBk9Zqp24%2Ffile.excalidraw.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=f874db10-a309-456f-bb43-461cce8a3c6e" alt="" class="gitbook-drawing">

To support those use cases, we offer our OpenVPN service. This allows you to connect to the IP via a secure connection to our mobile core.

## Connect to your device

To connect to your device, simply follow the steps below. Make sure you [deployed](..#deploy-a-private-network) a private network and [assigned a SIM](..#assign-a-sim-to-a-private-network) card to it.

{% embed url="https://vimeo.com/787984316/d78e84e310" %}

* Make sure you have installed the OpenVPN client on your local machine. You can download it for free [here](https://openvpn.net/vpn-client/).
* In the Simbase dashboard, navigate to **'Private Network'** and click on your deployed network.
* On the Private Network overview page, click on the OpenVPN tab.
* On the right side of the page, you can see the stats of your virtual server. Click on any of the three download buttons, to download profile 1, 2 or 3. Every user that uses the OpenVPN server, requires his own unique profile.
* Store the file on your machine and navigate to the download folder.
* Unzip the file (by double-clicking it) and double-click on the .ovpn file. This should prompt you to import the file in your local OpenVPN client. If that does not work, drag the .ovpn file on top of the client.
* Click 'OK', and enter a friendly name in the 'Profile Name' field. Click Connect
* After a few seconds, you should be successfully connected to our OpenVPN server (you can also check the connection logs in the dashboard).
* In the Private Network overview page, click on the 'SIM cards' tab. You can now see all the SIM cards that are assigned to this network.
* Take note of the IP of your SIM (in this case 10.0.33.1). Open the terminal (Mac) or command prompt (Windows) and you should be able to ping your device.
