In order for a device to act as a participant in the VPN network, it must first be configured for this purpose.

The icom Connectivity Suite - VPN is a service of INSYS icom for the simple and secure network connection of locations, plants, control centers and mobile devices via a VPN network.

Note This Configuration Guide only applies to a Windows PC as third-party device in an OpenVPN network of the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN. Other third-party devices, such as PCs with other operating systems, tablets, mobile phones or controls are configured analogue.

Situation

You have added a third-party device in the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN and want to configure it as participant in the VPN network now.

Solution

The following Configuration Guide shows how to configure a third-party device, in this case a Windows PC, for the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN. The following steps are necessary for this:

  • Install the OpenVPN software on the PC

  • Store the OpenVPN configuration file on the PC

  • Establish the OpenVPN connection

Installing the OpenVPN software

In order to establish an OpenVPN connection between your third-party device and the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN, the OpenVPN package must be installed on your third-party device.

  1. Download the appropriate OpenVPN package from https://openvpn.net/community-downloads/ and install it.

  2. Follow the prompts of the installation wizard until the installation is completed.

You have installed the OpenVPN package in the specified directory on your PC with this. The default directory for this is C:\Program Files\OpenVPN.

Storing the OpenVPN configuration file

It is prerequisite that the third-party device (PC) is already added to the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN. Refer to this Configuration Guide to find out how to add the third-party device.

The icom Connectivity Suite – VPN generates a configuration file for establishing the OpenVPN connection. This configuration file must only be stored in the installation of the OpenVPN package on your third-party device (PC).

  1. Open the portal of the icom Connectivity Suite:

  2. Select the Devices tab.

  3. Go to the row of third-party device (PC) to be configured and click on Download (tray arrow down) in the Manage column.

  4. Click on OpenVPN Config file and save the configuration file to your computer.

  5. Move the OpenVPN configuration file from the Download directory to the configuration directory of the OpenVPN installation. The default configuration directory for this is C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config.

You have configured the OpenVPN installation on your PC for a connection to the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN with this.

Establishing the OpenVPN connection

When the OpenVPN package is installed, it is possible to establish a connection to each OpenVPN network, for which a configuration file is present, from a PC.

  1. Start the OpenVPN GUI via the microsoft windows Start menu → OpenVPN → Open-VPN GUI or by clicking on the desktop icon.

  2. Right-click the symbol of the OpenVPN GUI in the task bar and select Control_PC → Connect or Control_PC → <OpenVPN connection> → Connect if you have stored more than one configuration file in the configuration directory.

The OpenVPN GUI will establish a connection to the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN now.

Troubleshooting

  • You can verify a successful connection when the state changes to online on the Devices tab of the icom Connectivity Suite. Please note that this may take up to a few minutes.

  • If the connection to the icom Connectivity Suite – VPN has been established successfully, the symbol of the Open-VPN GUI will be shown green. If the symbol remains yellow, the OpenVPN client tries to reach the server, but the connection cannot be established.

  • A connection log can be displayed using the menu item View Log. If the symbol remains yellow and the log stops with the line UDP link remote, the cause is probably that an external firewall blocks the VPN connection. The port for the VPN connection is displayed in this log entry at the end after the colon. This port (with the UDP protocol) must be enabled by the administrator.

  • Refer to the icom Connectivity Suite manual for more information.

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