This article details steps on completing the installation of LogonBox VPN from the original ISO image. The ISO image is unique in that you need to configure the OS as well as the application.
This install method can be useful if you need to install on a Hypervisor that we don't have images available for, or if you need to install the server directly on to your own hardware.
1. Pre-requisites
You need to download the ISO image.
Open your browser and navigate to https://www.logonbox.com/en/logonox-vpn-registration
Enter your details and click Get LogonBox VM, this should send you an evaluation license.
Select ISO from the dropdown menu and click on the Download button.
If you already have a license you can go directly to the download page at https://www.logonbox.com/en/LogonBox-VM-Download and click the Download button.
Note: If installing on a Hypervisor, you must first create a new Virtual Machine to install the ISO on.
It is recommended to set the following options:
- 2 CPUs (the server will be more responsive on user updates with 2 CPUs)
- At least 2Gb of RAM
- 32Gb hard disk (8Gb as a minimum)
- CDROM with ISO mounted
2. Choose Graphical Install
With the newly created VM started you should see the LogonBox VPN installation menu, from here choose Graphical Install, the Install option does the same but lacks any gui.
3. Language and Locale Settings
The initial steps require you to configure the language, location and keyboard mapping to use, please choose your country and location as appropriate then click Continue.
On the next page, select your location, then click Continue.
Now select your keyboard mapping and click Continue again.
4. Network Settings
The next step requires you to set the hostname for the system and the domain name, this will be the name of the server and how users will access this machine. In my example I have chosen:
- Hostname: vpnvpn
- Domain name: logonbox.local
Click Continue.
5. Configure clock
Now select your desired timezone and click Continue.
6. Partition Disks
The next step requires partitioning of the 32 GB of disk space assigned to this VM. The simplest method is to use the default settings.
Select Guided - use entire disk and click Continue.
Now select the disk to install on and click Continue again.
On the next screen, select how you want to partition the disk. It is easiest to just select All files in one partition (recommended for new users) and click Continue.
Select Finish partitioning and write changes to disk then click Continue.
Finally for this step, select Yes to confirm the changes and click Continue.
The ISO now starts copying files to the hard disk, which will take a few minutes.
7. Console encoding, Package Manager, GRUB
After the files have copied, you should be prompted for the encoding to use on the console.
Accept the default of UTF-8 and click Continue.
The final steps require setting up of the package manager, this is required to get Debian operating system updates, it is recommend you select Yes to use a Network Mirror and click Continue.
Now choose a country as close to you as possible and click Continue again.
Now choose a mirror server from the list provided and click Continue.
If you need to use a proxy to access this server then you can provide these settings on the next step, or leave blank to not use a proxy.
Click Continue.
After the packager has configured itself, you should be at the boot loader page.
Select the only hard disk device that should be there (usually /dev/sda) and click Continue.
The installation should now complete. Click Continue one last time after which the server should now restart.
8. VMCentre Configuration
As the server is now booting, you may now unmount the ISO image.
After the server has booted, you will be presented with a screen prompting you set a password. Enter a new password and confirm, after which you will see a prompt to log in. Enter your password and click Login.
VMCentre is a frontend which we have created to help easily manage the virtual machine.
To learn about all of the features of VMCentre please refer to our separate guide.
For now, all we need to do is to configure the networking.
Click the Network Configuration button on the left hand side.
The network configuration defaults to DHCP, so if this is enough for your configuration then no further configuration is needed.
For setting a static address though, type in the values of the DNS server and DNS search domain, then type in the hostname that will be used for the server.
Untick the DHCP checkbox and enter values for the IP, Gateway, Broadcast and Subnet addresses.
Once the configuration has been completed, scroll down the page and click Save. Click Apply on the confirmation window that appears.
Reboot the system to ensure the new IP settings are good, the current IP address should be displayed on the Logon page as well as the main VMCentre screen.
You may now continue the configuration in a web browser by connecting to https://<hostname>
When connecting to the web interface interface for the first time, you will be asked to run through the setup wizard to finalize the installation.
