OpenVPN and n2n (newbie question)

sicofante

Hi

I'm a total newcomer to VPN software. I can administer a Linux, OS X or Windows system. I have a good knowledge of computer technology, just not too deep regarding networking. My day job is about building workstations (I'm a hardware guy). Software support is just a hobby, but I do it for many people. This post is related to this -light- software support I do.

I'm looking to build small VPNs for family, friends and their small businesses. I want an open source, actively developed solution. After some reading, I've come down to two choices: OpenVPN and n2n.

I can't quite understand the differences. I'm a little surprised the term "n2n" can't be found at all at these forums. Maybe I've overrated it?

From what I've understood so far, I need some sort of 'server' for OpenVPN, while I just need a 'supernode' for n2n. I don't know, however, if I'm correct or if both requirements imply more or less the same issues.

I need a VPN solution that doesn't rely on a central server, so peer to peer (n2n) looks like the way to go (provided I can find publicly available and reliable supernodes), but maybe OpenVPN is also capable of being used p2p style?

Since OpenVPN looks like the "de facto" standard in the FLOSS world, I just want to be sure I'm not missing something before I make my choice.

Thanks for any help.

Mimiko

Quickstart

Download and compile the code
Decide where to place your supernode. Suppose you put it on host a.b.c.d at port xyw.

This software too needs a server (supernode) to find other nodes. The main different is the dirrect connection between clients and sending traffic to each other without the server, in detriment of sequrity. OpenVPN lacks this option, because sequrity is on the first place.