Connect to VPN

You can easily turn your DiskStation into a VPN client and connect to an existing VPN (Virtual Private Network) server via PPTP, OpenVPN, or L2TP/IPSec protocols. If you have multiple VPN servers, you can also create specific VPN profiles for each server to quickly switch and connect to different VPN servers with a simple click.

What is VPN?

A VPN, or virtual private network, is a solution to meet the need to securely access resources on your private network from the Internet. For businesses or some individuals, with the need for expanding networking capabilities growing, the cost of this physical networking system and their technical support will increase exponentially. When considering the cost-efficiency and the long-term maintenances, VPN is a smart and increasingly attractive solution. With encryption and other security mechanisms, VPN technology allows business members to easily access the central network of the company and leveraging the resources in it just as in LAN. Individuals can also access resources on their home LAN when being far away from home.

Note:

To create VPN profiles:

  1. Go to Control Panel > Network.
  2. Under the Network Interface tab, click Create and choose Create VPN profile.
  3. When creating a new VPN profile, you can choose one of the following connection types:
  4. Refer to the sections below for instructions to set up any of the three type of VPN connections.

To create a PPTP profile:

  1. When prompted to choose a VPN connection method, choose PPTP, and then click Next.
  2. Pick a name for the new profile, specify the address of the VPN server you want to establish connection with, and enter your username and password for the server. Click Next to continue.
  3. Note:

  4. Choose one of the following authentication protocols from the Authentication menu to protect VPN client's password during authentication:
  5. If you chose MS CHAP or MS CHAP v2, then select one of the following from the Encryption menu to encrypt VPN connection:
  6. Note:

  7. Tick any of the following checkboxes depending on your needs:
  8. Click Apply.

To create an OpenVPN (via .ovpn) profile:

  1. When prompted to choose a VPN connection method, choose OpenVPN (via importing a .ovpn file), and then click Next.
  2. Pick a name for the new profile, and in the Import .ovpn file field, click Browse to select and import an .ovpn file exported from the VPN server.
  3. Enter the following information provided by your VPN server administrator: your username, password and import the CA certificate file (e.g. ca.crt).
  4. If the VPN server provider has also provided you with a TLS-auth key, client key, client certificate, or a certificate revocation list, please click Advanced options and import them into their respective fields.
  5. Click Next to continue.
  6. Note:

  7. Tick any of the following checkboxes depending on your needs:
  8. Click Apply.

To create an L2TP/IPSec profile:

  1. When prompted to choose a VPN connection method, choose L2TP/IPSec, and then click Next.
  2. Pick a name for the new profile, specify the address of the VPN server you want to establish connection with, and enter your username and password for the server. You'll also need to enter the pre-shared key for the VPN server. Then click Next.
  3. Note:

  4. Choose one of the following authentication protocols from the Authentication menu to protect VPN client's password during authentication:
  5. Note:

  6. Tick any of the following checkboxes depending on your needs:
  7. Click Apply.

To connect or disconnect to a VPN server:

  1. Select a VPN profile.
  2. Click Connect or Disconnect.

Note:

To modify a VPN profile:

  1. Select a VPN profile.
  2. Click Edit.