Help on optimizing setup

kaptemplar

Hello,

I would like some help on optimizing my setup. Currently I have my openVPN server housed in my DD-WRT WNR3500L. I mainly connect to it using guizmoVPN on my iPhone 4. Behind the server I have a NAS that I stream music from remotely using PlugPlayer. It can run smoothly but at the same time it can start skipping from time to time. I have tested my 3G connection quite a bit and while I understand the service can be spotty, I get the feeling that I can improve other areas in my setup to offset the spottiness and maintain a continuous stream with no skipping. So my goal is a configuration that balances security with speed. While I understand some of the basic concepts of VPNs, I am definitely a n00b so I appreciate any help I can get.

SERVER CONFIG

dh /tmp/openvpn/dh.pem
ca /tmp/openvpn/ca.crt
cert /tmp/openvpn/cert.pem
key /tmp/openvpn/key.pem
keepalive 10 120
verb 4
mute 5
log-append /var/log/openvpn
writepid /var/log/openvpnd.pid
management 127.0.0.1 5002
management-log-cache 50
mtu-disc yes
topology subnet
client-config-dir /tmp/openvpn/ccd
script-security 2
port 1194
proto tcp-server
cipher bf-cbc
auth sha1
tls-server
ifconfig-pool-persist /tmp/openvpn/ip-pool 86400
comp-lzo no
client-to-client
tcp-nodelay
tun-mtu 1500
server 10.10.10.0 255.255.255.0
dev tun0
tls-auth /tmp/openvpn/ta.key 0
push "route 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0"

CLIENT CONFIG

client
;dev tap
dev tun
;dev-node MyTap
proto tcp
;proto udp
remote x.x.x.x 1194
;remote my-server-2 1194
;remote-random
resolv-retry infinite
nobind
;user nobody
;group nobody
persist-key
persist-tun
;http-proxy-retry # retry on connection failures
;http-proxy [proxy server] [proxy port #]
;mute-replay-warnings
ca ca.crt
cert client1.crt
key client1.key
;ns-cert-type server
tls-auth ta.key 1
;cipher x
comp-lzo
verb 3
;mute 20
float

Mimiko

Unfortunally this is not possible, as 3G (and other GPRS) connection are not stable, that's why you get skipped frames. You can try lowering audio (and/or video) quality to lower the bandwith usage. Also setup caching on your client.

kaptemplar

How would I setup caching on my client? What does that do? Also is there anyway to test throughput on my client so at least I can determine that 3G is indeed the problem?

Mimiko

How would I setup caching on my client?

Configure audio caching in your player.

Also is there anyway to test throughput on my client so at least I can determine that 3G is indeed the problem?

If your phone supports java, you can use http://speedtest.net/ to test the speed of connection.

kaptemplar

I see. Speedtest would give me 3G overall speed though. I would like to determine how fast I am downloading audio through the VPN connection. Is that possible?