Using a VPN connection to manage your server can have a handful of benefits. Generally the most important benefit to using a VPN is security. When you connect to the Storm VPN your internet traffic to the Liquid Web network will be encrypted.
Your computer will be connecting to your server using a local VPN IP address. If your home IP is blocked you can still use your VPN connection to access the server. It’s important to note that Storm VPN connections cannot be used to access servers outside Liquid Web’s network.
Download & Install ShrewVPN Client
When using a Storm VPN connection on Windows versions 8, and up, you may find issues connecting. This is due to changes in Windows that causes issues with the built-in client. Due to this issue we have found success connecting from newer Windows versions using ShrewVPN Client.
- Navigate to the Shrew Soft download page: https://www.shrew.net/download/vpn
- Scroll down the page to the Downloads table.
- Find the most recent version and click the download link. In this case that is the 2.2.2-release version.
- Once the download finishes, run and complete the installation process.
Once completed you will see a mew shortcut on the desktop, double-click the icon to open ShrewVPN and continue on to the next section for connection details.
Connecting to Storm VPN
With the ShrewVPN software installed you will now be able to configure your first VPN connection to the Storm VPN. While you can configure the necessary options manually through the program itself, generally, it’s easiest to create a configuration file and import the necessary options that way. To import the connection settings you will open your text editor (notepad, notepad++, etc) and paste the text found in the box below:
n:version:4 n:network-ike-port:500 n:network-mtu-size:1380 n:client-addr-auto:1 n:network-natt-port:4500 n:network-natt-rate:15 n:network-frag-size:540 n:network-dpd-enable:1 n:client-banner-enable:1 n:network-notify-enable:1 n:client-dns-used:1 n:client-dns-auto:1 n:client-dns-suffix-auto:1 n:client-splitdns-used:1 n:client-splitdns-auto:1 n:client-wins-used:1 n:client-wins-auto:1 n:phase1-dhgroup:2 n:phase1-life-secs:86400 n:phase1-life-kbytes:0 n:vendor-chkpt-enable:0 n:phase2-life-secs:3600 n:phase2-life-kbytes:0 n:policy-nailed:0 n:policy-list-auto:1 s:network-host:50.28.17.124 s:client-auto-mode:pull s:client-iface:virtual s:network-natt-mode:enable s:network-frag-mode:enable s:auth-method:mutual-psk-xauth s:ident-client-type:keyid s:ident-server-type:any s:ident-client-data:liquidweb b:auth-mutual-psk:NzQya1daVEtneFU1Wm5pYQ== s:phase1-exchange:aggressive s:phase1-cipher:auto s:phase1-hash:auto s:phase2-transform:auto s:phase2-hmac:auto s:ipcomp-transform:disabled n:phase2-pfsgroup:-1 s:policy-level:auto
Once the above text is pasted into the text editor you will then save the file in the vpn format. To do this we will save the filename as: liquidweb.vpn. Note: If your save window has a ‘Save as type‘ option this should be set to ‘All types (*.*)‘ before you hit save.
With the connection settings saved to the liquidweb.vpn you are now ready to import the settings and make your first VPN connection. To start open ShrewVPN:
- Import the settings: File > Import
- Navigate to and Select the file: Once you’ve selected the vpn file click ‘Open’
- Name the connection: You can either adjust the new connection name, or click enter to continue.
With the Storm VPN connection now imported you can make your first connection. You’ll need a Storm VPN user and password handy first, if you don’t have one setup yet read this article on the subject.
To connect double click the new connection in the VPN program, this will prompt you for the VPN username and password. Once you enter the correct credentials you can click connect and a new VPN connection will be made. Once a successful connection is made the ‘Connect’ button will change into a ‘Disconnect’ button.
