Hey guys! Today, we're diving deep into setting up a secure WireGuard remote access solution using IPFSense. If you're looking to create a robust and encrypted connection to your home or office network, you've come to the right place. This guide will walk you through each step, ensuring you have a fully functional and secure remote access setup. So, grab your coffee, and let's get started!

Why Choose WireGuard with IPFSense?

Before we jump into the how-to, let's quickly cover why you might want to choose WireGuard with IPFSense for your remote access needs. WireGuard is a modern VPN protocol known for its speed, simplicity, and strong encryption. Unlike older VPN protocols, WireGuard is designed to be lightweight and easy to configure, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and advanced users. IPFSense, on the other hand, is a powerful firewall and routing platform that can be installed on various hardware, providing a flexible and secure foundation for your network. Combining these two technologies gives you a secure, fast, and manageable remote access solution.

Key Benefits:

• Security: WireGuard uses state-of-the-art cryptography to protect your data.
• Speed: Its efficient design ensures minimal performance overhead.
• Simplicity: Easy to set up and manage compared to other VPN solutions.
• Flexibility: IPFSense can be customized to fit a wide range of network configurations.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure you have the following:

1. IPFSense Installed: You should have IPFSense already installed and configured on your hardware. If not, you'll need to do that first.
2. A Static Public IP Address or Dynamic DNS: For reliable remote access, you'll need a way to consistently reach your IPFSense firewall from the internet. A static IP is ideal, but a dynamic DNS service (like DynDNS or No-IP) will work if your IP address changes.
3. A Computer or Device for Testing: You'll need a device outside your local network to test the remote access once it's set up.

Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

Step 1: Install the WireGuard Package on IPFSense

The first step is to install the WireGuard package on your IPFSense firewall. This is typically done through the IPFSense web interface.

1. Log in to your IPFSense web interface.
2. Navigate to System > Package Manager > Available Packages.
3. Search for wireguard.
4. Click the Install button next to the WireGuard package.
5. Confirm the installation.

Once the installation is complete, you'll see WireGuard listed under the VPN menu.

Step 2: Configure the WireGuard Interface

Next, we need to configure the WireGuard interface. This involves creating a new interface and setting up the basic parameters.

1. Go to VPN > WireGuard > Interfaces.
2. Click Add Interface.
3. Configure the Interface:
   • Description: Give your interface a descriptive name (e.g., wg0 or WireGuardRemote).
   • Listen Port: Choose a UDP port for WireGuard to listen on (e.g., 51820). Make sure this port is not already in use.
   • Interface Keys: Click the Generate button to create a new private and public key pair. Save the private key securely; you'll need it later for your client configuration. The public key will be used by the clients to connect to the WireGuard server.
   • IP Addresses: Assign an IP address to the WireGuard interface. This IP address will be the gateway for your VPN clients. Choose an address from a private IP range that doesn't conflict with your existing network (e.g., 10.6.0.1/24).
4. Click Save.

Step 3: Configure the WireGuard Tunnel

Now, we need to set up the WireGuard tunnel, which involves adding peers (clients) and configuring their settings.

1. Go to VPN > WireGuard > Tunnels.
2. Click Add Tunnel.
3. Configure the Tunnel for the First Client:
   • Description: Give this tunnel a descriptive name (e.g., Client1).
   • Public Key: Enter the public key of the client device. You'll generate this key on the client device later.
   • Allowed IPs: Specify the IP address range that this client is allowed to access. Typically, this will be the entire subnet of your LAN (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24) and the WireGuard interface IP address (10.6.0.0/24). You can add multiple IP ranges if needed. Make sure that it matches the interface IP you set up previously.
   • Persistent Keepalive: Set this to a value like 25 seconds to keep the connection alive, especially useful when the client is behind a NAT.
4. Click Save.
5. Repeat this step for each client that needs remote access.

Step 4: Configure Firewall Rules

To allow traffic to flow through the WireGuard tunnel, you need to configure firewall rules in IPFSense.

1. Go to Firewall > Rules.
2. Select the WireGuard interface.
3. Add a New Rule:
   • Action: Pass
   • Interface: WireGuard
   • Address Family: IPv4
   • Protocol: any
   • Source: WireGuard net (This is an alias that represents the IP address range of the WireGuard interface, e.g., 10.6.0.0/24)
   • Destination: LAN net (This is an alias that represents the IP address range of your LAN, e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
   • Description: A brief description of the rule (e.g., Allow WireGuard to LAN).
4. Click Save.
5. Add another rule on the LAN interface to allow traffic from the WireGuard network to the internet (if needed):
   • Interface: LAN
   • Action: Pass
   • Address Family: IPv4
   • Protocol: any
   • Source: WireGuard net
   • Destination: any
   • Description: A brief description of the rule (e.g., Allow WireGuard to Internet).
6. Click Save.

Step 5: Configure NAT Rules

If you want your WireGuard clients to access the internet through your IPFSense firewall, you'll need to configure NAT (Network Address Translation) rules.

1. Go to Firewall > NAT > Outbound.
2. Make sure the mode is set to Automatic outbound NAT rule generation. If it is, you may need to switch to Manual outbound NAT rule generation and add a rule.
3. Add a New Rule (if necessary):
   • Interface: Your WAN interface.
   • Address Family: IPv4
   • Protocol: any
   • Source: WireGuard net
   • Destination: any
   • Translation / Target: Your WAN interface address.
   • Description: A brief description of the rule (e.g., NAT WireGuard to Internet).
4. Click Save.

Step 6: Configure the Client Device

Now that the server-side configuration is complete, you need to configure your client device. This involves installing the WireGuard client and setting up the configuration file.

1. Install the WireGuard Client: Download and install the WireGuard client for your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS) from the official WireGuard website or your app store.
2. Generate Client Keys: Open the WireGuard client and generate a new private and public key pair. Make sure you save the private key securely! You'll need the public key to configure the server (which we did in Step 3).
3. Create a Configuration File: Create a new configuration file (e.g., wg0.conf) with the following content:

[Interface]
PrivateKey = <Your Client Private Key>
Address = 10.6.0.2/32  # Assign a unique IP address to the client
DNS = 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4  # Optional: Google's Public DNS Servers

[Peer]
PublicKey = <Your IPFSense WireGuard Public Key>
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0  # Allows all traffic through the tunnel
Endpoint = <Your Public IP or Dynamic DNS>:<Your WireGuard Listen Port>
PersistentKeepalive = 25

• Replace <Your Client Private Key> with the private key you generated on the client.
• Replace 10.6.0.2/32 with a unique IP address for this client within the WireGuard subnet. Make sure it doesn't conflict with other clients or the server IP.
• Replace <Your IPFSense WireGuard Public Key> with the public key you generated on the IPFSense server.
• Replace <Your Public IP or Dynamic DNS> with your IPFSense firewall's public IP address or dynamic DNS hostname.
• Replace <Your WireGuard Listen Port> with the port you configured in Step 2 (e.g., 51820).

4. Import the Configuration: Import the configuration file into the WireGuard client. This process varies depending on the client software.

Step 7: Test the Connection

Finally, it's time to test the connection.

1. Enable the WireGuard Tunnel on the Client: Activate the WireGuard tunnel in the client software.
2. Verify the Connection: Check if you can access resources on your LAN (e.g., ping a device on your LAN). Also, verify that your internet traffic is being routed through the tunnel by checking your IP address on a website like whatismyip.com.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Firewall Rules: Double-check your firewall rules to ensure traffic is allowed in both directions.
• NAT Rules: Make sure NAT is configured correctly if you want clients to access the internet through the tunnel.
• IP Addresses: Ensure that IP addresses and subnets are configured correctly and don't conflict with each other.
• DNS: If you're having trouble resolving domain names, make sure your DNS settings are correct.
• Logs: Check the IPFSense system logs and WireGuard logs for any error messages.

Conclusion

Setting up WireGuard remote access with IPFSense might seem a bit complex at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a straightforward process. By following this guide, you can create a secure, fast, and reliable remote access solution for your network. Good luck, and happy networking!