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I have Phpbb running on a server on a Lan.<br />
<br />
I would like to be able to grant access to PHPBB but I do not want to make the forum accessible/visible in any way online. <br />
<br />
I was wondering if installing openvpn in vmware would help me in acheiving an SSL VPN which would direct users to port 80 of the local ip address of the server which runs phpbb thru the ssl vpn tunnel. Any thoughts?<br />
<br />
Are there any other solutions (opensource) which could help me acheive the above?<br />
<br />
As to the SSL certificates, what certificate should be used in this scenario and where is it suggested to obtain the certificates from?<br />
<br />
Thank you for your time.
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I have Phpbb running on a server on a Lan.

I would like to be able to grant access to PHPBB but I do not want to make the forum accessible/visible in any way online. 

I was wondering if installing openvpn in vmware would help me in acheiving an SSL VPN which would direct users to port 80 of the local ip address of the server which runs phpbb thru the ssl vpn tunnel. Any thoughts?

Are there any other solutions (opensource) which could help me acheive the above?

As to the SSL certificates, what certificate should be used in this scenario and where is it suggested to obtain the certificates from?

Thank you for your time.

SSL VPN for accessing PHPBB on LAN - Advice on best opensource Solution

A virtual private network (VPN) is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or travelling users access to a central organizational network securely. VPNs encapsulate data transfers using secure cryptographic methods and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.

Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each IP packet of a communication session. IPsec includes protocols for establishing mutual authentication between agents at the beginning of the session and negotiation of cryptographic keys to be used during the session. IPsec can be used in protecting data flows between a pair of hosts (host-to-host), between a pair of security gateways (network-to-network), or between a security gateway and a host (network-to-host). IPsec is an end-to-end security scheme operating in the Internet Layer of the Internet Protocol Suite.

Internet Protocol Security

HTTPS is a protocol for secure communication over a computer network which is widely used on the Internet. HTTPS consists of communication over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) within a connection encrypted by Transport Layer Security (TLS) or its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The main motivation for HTTPS is authentication of the visited website and to protect the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data. HTTPS is widely used for protecting page authenticity on all types of websites, securing accounts and keeping user communications, identity and web browsing private.