Multiple simultaneous VPN connections

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seb

Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:22 am

Post by seb » Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:49 am
Hi,

I'm evaluating the Viscosity VPN client, and the feature I'm mostly interested in is the ability to have multiple connections at the same time (that it looks as nice as Viscosity does is a bonus:)

However, I can't get it to work, this is from the log when starting up the second connection:
Code: Select all
2021-12-20 15:16:39: Viscosity Mac 1.10.1 (1586)
2021-12-20 15:16:39: Viscosity OpenVPN Engine Started
2021-12-20 15:16:39: Running on macOS 12.1.0
2021-12-20 15:16:39: ---------
2021-12-20 15:16:39: State changed to Connecting
2021-12-20 15:16:39: Checking reachability status of connection...
2021-12-20 15:16:39: Connection is reachable. Starting connection attempt.
2021-12-20 15:16:39: DEPRECATED OPTION: --cipher set to 'AES-256-CBC' but missing in --data-ciphers (AES-256-GCM:AES-128-GCM). Future OpenVPN version will ignore --cipher for cipher negotiations. Add 'AES-256-CBC' to --data-ciphers or change --cipher 'AES-256-CBC' to --data-ciphers-fallback 'AES-256-CBC' to silence this warning.
2021-12-20 15:16:39: OpenVPN 2.5.4 x86_64-apple-darwin [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [LZ4] [PKCS11] [MH/RECVDA] [AEAD] built on Oct 22 2021
2021-12-20 15:16:39: library versions: OpenSSL 1.1.1l  24 Aug 2021, LZO 2.10
2021-12-20 15:16:51: Valid endpoint found: 1.2.3.4:1194:udp4
2021-12-20 15:16:51: TCP/UDP: Preserving recently used remote address: [AF_INET]1.2.3.4:1194
2021-12-20 15:16:51: TCP/UDP: Socket bind failed on local address [AF_INET][undef]:1194: Address already in use (errno=48)
2021-12-20 15:16:51: Exiting due to fatal error
2021-12-20 15:16:51: State changed to Disconnected (Process Terminated)
Where 1.2.3.4 is the real address of my second (working) VPN server.

Using my UNIX networking knowledge, I presume the "Address already in use" error is because the openvpn client is binding locally to the same port as the server (1194) - which both my vpn servers are using as well. Is there a reason for the client to do this? I guess it could just bind to 0 and get a random port (is there perhaps some config that enables that)? Or am I presuming too much and there is actually another answer to the problem?

Thanks!

/Sebastian

PS. macOS version: 12.1, Viscosity client version: 1.10.1 (1586)

James

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Posts: 2313
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:27 pm

Post by James » Tue Dec 21, 2021 11:32 am
Hi Sebastian,

Edit both of your connections in Viscosity and tick the "No Bind" option. This should prevent both connections from trying to use the same local port number. This option can be found under the Options tab in the connection editor:
https://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/ar ... s/#options

The following article also has some information regarding using simultaneous connections that I recommend giving a quick read:
https://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/ar ... taneously/

Cheers,
James
Web: https://www.sparklabs.com
Support: https://www.sparklabs.com/support
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparklabs

seb

Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2021 1:22 am

Post by seb » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:25 am
Hi James,

That was it - thank you! The "no bind" option did the trick. I had just imported the .ovpn files so I hadn't actually gone through all the options when I set up my connections.

I did read the simultaneous connections article (even before posting) - very well written and a good explanation of the pitfalls you can end up with, like overlapping subnets and split vs all-traffic situations (but it didn't mention the no bind option:)

Thank you for the quick support and Happy Holidays,

/Sebastian
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