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My server became the internet

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 1:04 am
by lizardlab
This is just a post of an experience I had which I think is really fitting for this forum, I'm not asking for help as this was a long time ago. Here's how it all begins, I was trying to setup a VPN server using OpenVPn on Debian. Debian being a very reliable and robust system (used to at least) provide sample configuration files for OpenVPN. I was still under 18 at the point I was setting this thing up and the physical box was at my mom's place but I was staying at my dad's place for an extended period of time (my mom was out of town). The box is headless and command-line only so I was setting this all up using SSH (very important detail). I had overwritten all the sample files and using other online resources (like the ArchWiki) I pieced together what I thought would be a working config. I put in all the necessary variables like the IP and all, but I still couldn't get the routing rule down. I ended up copying the files to the live directory of OpenVPN and I tried starting it, however I forgot I put both the client file and server file. I had put in all the details for both, and so when it ran it told me over the SSH connection that it was successful, however my terminal instance froze up. I tried reconnecting but the machine wasn't accepting any connections on any port whatsoever (I ran a lot of other services) and I realized what I did... My server believed it was the internet in its entirety. I was hoping that trying to connect through the LAN would allow me to get another SSH session going to get it working, but of course that would be too easy. I ended up having to hook it up to my monitor and delete both files in order to get the computer to respond. Lesson to be learned: never place the client and server in the same folder.

Re: My server became the internet

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 12:32 pm
by Traffic
I expect you enabled --redirect-gateway and ended up with an infinite routing loop ... :mrgreen: