MikroTik CHR: How to set up OpenVPN server for your IoT devices (+ video)

In this article, we will show you how to configure an OpenVPN server in your MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router using WinBox and RouterOS CLI.

IMPORTANT: The date on the router must be within the range of the installed certificates valid period. To prevent certificate verification issues, enable NTP synchronization on both the server and the client.

Here’s a small video explaining the process:

 

1. Updating RouterOS to the latest stable version


You can skip this if your router is already up to date. Make sure you have a backup of your configuration before proceeding.
To update your router, go to System>Packages and click on “Check for updates”,
Mikrotik RouterOS Package manager

If your MikroTik router is not updated, you will be presented with the new version and a changelog for it. Click on "Download and Install" or "Download", if you plan to reboot and apply the update later. After it’s downloaded, your router will reboot to apply the update.
RouterOS update

 

In this article, we will use 192.168.34.0/24 as our OpenVPN Network.

 

2. Creating a bridge for the OpenVPN network

Go to Bridge and click on "+". Name the bridge as you like(e.g. OVPN-Bridge) and click on "OK".
OpenVPN Bridge creation
Alternatively, you can create a bridge through "Interfaces". After clicking on "+" select bridge.

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > interface bridge add name=OVPN-bridge

 

3. Setting an IP address for your VPN Network

Go to IP>Addresses and click on "+". Set 192.168.34.1/24 as the аddress and select the new bridge you’ve created(in our case OVPN-Bridge).
Setting the IP address

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip address add address=192.168.34.1/24 interface=OVPN-bridge

 

4. Creating an IP pool for your OpenVPN network

Go to IP>Pools and click on "+". Set the range to 192.168.34.100-192.168.34.200 and name the pool as you like(e.g. OVPN-pool).
Creating the OVPN pool

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip pool add name=OVPN-pool ranges=192.168.34.100-192.168.34.200

 

5. Creating a firewall filter rule

Go to IP>Firewall and create a new rule with these settings:
Chain: input
Protocol: TCP
Dst. Port: 1194(or 443)
Action: accept
Comment: OVPN pass
OVPN Firewall filter rule tab General OVPN Firewall rule Action tab

Then move the rule to higher priority by dragging it above drop rules.
Dragging the rule above drop rule animation

In RouterOS CLI you need to list all the rules, you can do that by using this command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip firewall filter print all without-paging

It should output something like this:

0 ;;; Allow ICMP ping
chain=input action=accept protocol=icmp

1 ;;; Allow WinBox
chain=input action=accept protocol=tcp dst-port=8291

2 ;;; Allow SSH
chain=input action=accept protocol=tcp dst-port=22221

3 ;;; Accept established connections
chain=input action=accept connection-state=established

4 ;;; Accept related connections
chain=input action=accept connection-state=related

5 ;;; Allow DNS for trusted network
chain=input action=accept protocol=udp src-address=192.168.99.0/24
dst-port=53

6 ;;; Drop everything else
chain=input action=drop

7 ;;; Drop invalid connections
chain=forward action=drop connection-state=invalid

Enter these two commands, where X is the number of the first drop rule:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip firewall filter add chain=input action=accept comment="OVPN pass" protocol=tcp dst-port=1194 place-before=X

In the end, it should look like this:

...

5 ;;; Allow DNS for trusted network
chain=input action=accept protocol=udp src-address=192.168.99.0/24
dst-port=53

6 ;;; OVPN pass
chain=input action=accept protocol=tcp dst-port=1194

7 ;;; Drop everything else
chain=input action=drop

...

 

6. Enabling the NAT for the OpenVPN

Go to the NAT tab and click on "+".
Input: srcnat
Out. Interface: ether1
Action: masquerade
OPENVPN NAT General tab OPENVPN NAT Action tab

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip firewall nat add chain=srcnat out-interface=ether1 action=masquerade

 

7. Making and signing the certificates

In this article, we will create and use self-signed ones.
Go to System > certificates and click on "+".

7a. Creating and signing the Certificate Authority

You can name it as you like, in our example, we will name it LMTCA(Local MikroTik Certificate Authority). Enter:
Name: LMTCA
Your Location/Organization data
Common Name: LMTCA
Key size: 4096
Days valid: e.g. 3650
Then go to the Key Usage tab and select only crl sign and key cert sign
CA certificate General tab CA certificate Key Usage Tab

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate add name=LMTCA country="BG" state="BG" locality="Sofia" organization="Company" unit="SysAdm" common-name="LMTCA" key-size=4096 days-valid=3650 key-usage=crl-sign,key-cert-sign

 

Now save the certificate and sign it with CRL host set to the public IP of your MikroTik CHR.
Signing the CA certificate

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > /certificate sign LMTCA ca-crl-host=YourMCHRPublicIP

 

7b. Creating and signing the OpenVPN Server Certificate

Name: SERVER
Your Location/Organization data
Common Name: Your public IP of your MikroTik CHR
Key size: 4096
Days valid: e.g. 3650
Then go to the Key Usage tab and select only digital signature, key encipherment, and tls server
OpenVPN Server Certificate General tab OpenVPN Server Certificate Key Usage tab

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate add name=SERVER country="BG" state="BG" locality="Sofia" organization="Company" unit="SysAdm" common-name="YourMCHRPublicIP" key-size=4096 days-valid=3650 key-usage=digital-signature,key-encipherment,tls-server

 

Now save the certificate and sign it with the newly created CA. 
OpenVPN Server Certificate Signing

After that, go to the General tab(or double-click the server certificate if you closed it) and mark "Trusted"
 Trusting the OpenVPN Server Certificate

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate sign SERVER ca="LMTCA"
[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate set SERVER trusted=yes

 

7c. Creating a template and making the Client certificates from it

Name: CLIENT-tpl
Your Location/Organization data
Common Name: CLIENT
Key size: 4096
Days valid: e.g. 3650
Then go to the Key Usage tab and select only tls-client
Client certificate template General tab Client certificate template Key Usage tab

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate add name=CLIENT-tpl country="BG" state="BG" locality="Sofia" organization="Company" unit="SysAdm" common-name="CLIENT" key-size=4096 days-valid=3650 key-usage=tls-client

 

Save it. From this template, we will be making the certificates for the clients. This is done by clicking on “Copy”.
Now rename both the name and common name to CLIENT1 (for other clients you can name them CLIENT2, CLIENT3, etc.)
Client Certificate General Tab

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate add name=CLIENT1 copy-from="CLIENT-tpl" common-name="CLIENT1"

 

Now save it and sign it with the CA you’ve created.
Client Certificate signing

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate sign CLIENT1 ca="LMTCA"

 

In the end, the certificate flags should be:
K, L, A, T - for the Certificate Authority
K, I, T - for the OpenVPN Server Certificate
K, I - for the Client certificates
Certificate flags in MikroTik

 

7d. Exporting and Downloading the certificates

This is done by right-clicking them and selecting export. When you export the client certificate, make sure that you export it with a password.
Right-clicking LMTCA and selecting export

Exporting LMTCA certificate

Exporting Client certificate with password

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate export-certificate LMTCA export-passphrase=""

[admin@MikroTik] >  /certificate export-certificate CLIENT1 export-passphrase=12345678

 

After you export them, you can easily download them using WinBox or other file transfer programs like WINSCP(via FTP/SFTP).
For WinBox, go to Files to locate your certificate files.
MikroTik Certificate files location

Then download them by dragging them into a folder on your computer.
Downloading cert files from your MikroTik


8. Enabling the OVPN Server

Go to PPP, click on “OVPN Server”, Check "Enabled", and set:
Port: 1194(or 443)
Certificate: SERVER
Require Client Certificate: true
Auth: sha1, md5
Cipher: Blowfish 128, aes 128, aes 192, aes 256
OpenVPN server configuration

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] >  /interface ovpn-server server set default-profile=default-encryption certificate=SERVER require-client-certificate=yes auth=sha1,md5 cipher=aes128,aes192,aes256,blowfish128 enabled=yes


9. Editing the default-encryption PPP profile

Go to Profiles, double-click the default-encryption profile, and set:
Local IP address: 192.168.34.1
Remote IP address: OVPN-pool
DNS servers: (e.g. Quad9) 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112
Editing the default-encryption profile

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ppp profile set default-encryption local-address=192.168.34.1 remote-address= OVPN-pool dns-server=9.9.9.9,149.112.112.112 bridge=OVPN-bridge


10. Creating a PPP account for the OpenVPN network
Click on the "Secrets" tab and then on "+". Set with credentials of your choice and select the default-encryption profile.
Creating the PPP account

RouterOS CLI Command:

[admin@MikroTik] > ppp secret add name=BGOCloud-OVPN password=bgocloud profile=default-encryption comment="our first account"

 

And that's it. You've created an OpenVPN Server on your MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router, ready to accept OVPN connections.

You can now connect some devices to your OpenVPN network, using these tutorials:
Set up OpenVPN Client in Windows and Mac
Set up OpenVPN Client in Android
Set up OpenVPN Client in iPhone iOS

Take a look at our powerful MikroTik VPS servers and choose a suitable plan to get started.

If setting up this server is hard for you, you can take a look at our fast and secure OpenVPN Hosting plans. Easier and quicker to set up, more secure and it's ready in 5 minutes. 

Benefit from the power of MikroTik CHR VPS without purchasing a license. Choose our ‘’Licensed’’ plan and save money.

Get Started!
icon knowledge

Related Articles

Setup OpenVPN Connect Client in iPhone iOS

In this article, we will show you how to connect your iPhone to your OpenVPN Server. We have...

Setup OpenVPN Connect Client in Android

In this article, we will show you how to connect your Android phone to your OpenVPN Server. We...

How to: Connecting Windows Device to OpenVPN Access Server

In this guide we will show you all the steps for connecting your Windows device to your new...

How to: Changing Password In Your OpenVPN Access Server

You’ve completed the installation of your BGOcloud OpenVPN Access Server? Well then, you can now...